Boku no Miraculous: Tales of Rabbit and the Lone Wolf
by Don't Frikkin Touch Me
Summary: At first glance, Izuku and Katsuki are just regular academy students with regular lives. But in secret, they're far from ordinary; known all across Japan as Rabbit and the Lone Wolf, these two heroic teens don their miraculouses to fight villains and save corrupted kwamis from the mysterious and evil All For One! But AFO isn't alone, and Japan will need all the heroes it can get!
1. INTRODUCTION

**_**BOOM!**_**

The ground jerked suddenly beneath Ochaco's feet, and she jolted forward, just barely catching herself before she could tumble into another pedestrian. Steadying herself, she looked up from her phone in alarm.

The Shibuya crosswalk was bustling with life as usual, crowded and thick, but all around, people began stumbling to a stop, reacting in confusion to the sudden tremors and a now very noticeable rumbling in the distance. Ochaco glanced nervously from side to side, trying to find the source, but there was nothing- nothing except the quakes and that ominous, ominous growl.

Phrases of 'What's going on?' and 'What's happening? 'rippled throughout the crowd, echoing from all sides and only thickening the tension in the air. Ochaco quickly pocketed her flip phone, disregarding the text she was writing and instead pulling the pocket camera from the folds of her jacket. It tittered as it woke, the lens popping out enthusiastically, and she rushed to hit video.

Her actions couldn't have been more timely. Because five seconds after the video began, the diamond center of Shibuya split open with a skull-jarring _crack_!

Debris flew outward with the force of a hurricane, and bystanders were flung back like dolls on marionette strings. Shrieks rung out and footsteps thundered as people desperately leaped the get away. Ochaco struggled to keep her footing as people stampeded past, moving in a small arc and anxiously keeping the camera fixed on the action in front of her.

Right there in the middle of the crosswalk, an incredible three meter hole crumbled outward, the center of which protruding an insanely large, meaty fist. Dirt and scum trickled through the clenched fingers, flicking outward as the hand promptly splayed, arm flinging to grasp the road and haul up the body attached to it.

Ice settled in Ochaco's lungs as the grotesque grizzly bear of a man climbed up into the streets, the camera beginning to shake in her hands. With a face like King Kong and muscles the size of tractor tires, this was no ordinary man.

"Akuma," Ochaco breathed.

Clothes hung torn and ragged off the man's bulging body, ripped apart from when he'd grown in size. He bared sharp teeth and veered his massive head left and right, snarling his menace to the screaming civilians all around.

"It-It's an Akuma," Ochaco stammered quietly, trembling fingers moving to zoom in on his face. "Fo-Fourth one this week, and it's only We-Wednesday. I'm here in Shi-Shibuya, about tw-twelve meters away-"

"WHERE ARE THEY?!"

The bellow was wretched and immediate, cutting into Ochaco's report and causing everyone in the vicinity to jump. He stomped a humongous foot into the blacktop, a resounding _crunch_ following the jagged indentation in the road. "WHERE ARE THOSE ACCURSED BRATS?!"

 _Accursed who?_ Ochaco thought wildly as she staggered back several steps, heart nearly beating out of her chest. But there was no time for her to question the demand. Just then, the villain's eyes came to rest on her, and her heart dropped right into her shoes.

Like a banging drum he released a warbling shriek, his voice bouncing among the buildings and alleyways of the city, and he bolted forward with the speed of a freight train. In sudden terror Ochaco lurched back, but she stumbled on a loose piece of debris and fell onto her rear, her voice shrilling in her throat as the man dove in for a devastating blow-!

 _Crack_!

...

... _Huh_...?

Brown eyes peeked open, one at a time. Arm raised in a last pathetic defense over her face, Ochaco twitched. She was not dead. Instead, she was lying in the shadow of the one who saved her life.

She gasped, once again lifting the camera. Panting just in front of her, someone donned in lively green dug craters into the pavement with their bright red shoes, arms crossed above them to block the heavy blow from above. The bodysuit was fuzzy and warm-looking, complete with fur trim and a cotton tail. It'd be hard to mistake him for anyone else- the Symbol of Hope himself.

The word on her tongue tasted sweet with relief. " _Rabbit_!"

He was there like a guardian angel, pushing back against the villain with all his strength. The floppy ears of his mask dangled flat against his curly hair, and his lean limbs shook ever so slightly with strain. Nevertheless, with freckles peeking out from beneath his mask, he gave Ochaco a bright, winning smile.

"Everything is okay!" Rabbit told her cheerfully. A pant was still evident in his voice, but his grin never wavered. "I'm here, now."

Ochaco felt her heart flutter at his words and she beamed in spite of her situation- she couldn't help it, the hope he radiated was just too contagious. She turned her attention back to the villain just as Rabbit did, and watched right up close as Rabbit veered back a gloved hand.

"Detroit-!" She could almost _hear_ the pure power crackling within his arm. Suddenly, she remembered something, and she quickly braced herself behind him as he shouted; " _ ** **Smash****_!"

It all happened so fast that Ochaco barely had time to think, or even worry about getting it all on camera. A split second of pause right on contact- and then the force of the punch sent the villain piercing through the air and right into the side of a building, so incredibly _fast_ that it barely took the entirety of a second. Dust plumed out from where the villain hit brick, the ' _crash_ ' that accompanied it echoing through the alleyways even now. The wall creaked and people staggered in crowds away from the site, giving it a good chunk of breathing room.

Rabbit wasted no time. He quickly turned and held out a hand- his other one, she noticed- for Ochaco.

"Can you stand?"

His eyes were incredibly green. They shone with energy; physically and metaphorically of course, filled to the brim with confidence and magic. Ochaco could only gaze straight into them with awe and wonder, comparing them to polished emeralds and wondering who on earth had the right to be so amazing.

She suddenly realized she was staring, pointing her camera right at him. She jolted and flushed, reaching out to take the hand he offered. His cream-colored glove was leathery and rough. "Ye-Yeah. Thank you."

"Good." He grinned- he was always, always grinning... she'd never seen him with a frown on his face before- and pulled her to her feet. He fell right back into a battle stance, squinting at the place where he'd thrown the villain. "Okay. The police should be on their way. You'd better get somewhere safe."

"Ye-Yeah. Thank you!" Ochaco stammered, already backing away.

The bystanders had already chosen a comfortable perimeter around the fight, a safe ways off from where Rabbit was preparing himself for round two, and Ochaco hurried to meet them. A few strangers quickly looked her over to ensure she was okay, asking her if she injured herself at all, but she kindly waved them away. After all, she was far less shaken than she was _excited_ ; giddy as a kid on Christmas. She got to see Rabbit right up close- _right_ up _close_!- and now she had a fantastic view of a villain fight. She trained her camera on the scene, shivering with anticipation, and let it unfold.

Across the road, the villain was already picking himself up off the ground, shaking concrete crumbs like a dog would shake off water. He growled viciously, eyes smoldering and fixated directly on Rabbit.

" _THERE YOU ARE_."

Rabbit smirked-a wide, confident smile that reached the gleaming green of his eyes beneath his mask- and he crouched farther into a fighting stance. " _Here I am_."

Like the snapping of thunder in a storm, the akumatized villain bellowed in rage. He tensed every bulging muscle in his gigantic body, ready to pounce at a moment's notice-

But he didn't get so much of a chance. Because that was right when an ear-piercing _BANG_ snapped the villain off his balance, sending him tumbling several meters to the left as the enormous, sudden burst of fire was left to die in the air. Ochaco jerked to find the source of the explosion, swinging her camera all around.

Smoke sweeping the area like fog, Ochaco could barely see where a tall silhouette swooped in, landing a few somersaults and hopping up beside Rabbit. She zoomed in with the lens, enhancing the picture.

"Hey there, Cottontail~" A low voice purred, and smoke thinned around a handsome, angular face, framed with spiky blonde hair and twitching, fluffy wolf ears. "Miss me?"

"You sure took your time," Rabbit grumbled, and then jerked to cry " _Look out_!" just as the villain came bursting through the settling cloud, charging straight at them. He missed, though just barely, with Rabbit and his companion dodging the big meaty fists by a hair. The villain barreled past the heroes and couldn't stop, instead skidding right for the bystanders nearby. The crowd rippled with shouts and the line drew back several meters, Ochaco stumbling to follow all while keeping her camera on the fight.

The villain screeched to a stop only a couple meters away, his gigantic body blocking out most of the picture where Ochaco's camera was pointed. But it wasn't for long, because he was already up and ready again, roaring once more in the general direction that the heroes must be.

"What are they going to do?!" A woman nearby shrilled, and Ochaco reacted, pointing toward her and getting an accidental close up on her face. "He's enormous! They're never going to get his akuma!"

"What are you saying?" A man on Ochaco's other side argued determinedly, and the camera immediately went to him. "Of course they will! This is _Rabbit_ we're talking about! He knows exactly what he's doing!"

"And do you see that who's with him?" another woman yelled excitedly, pointing. "That's the _Lone Wolf_!"

"With both of them together, they're sure to come out on top!"

"They're so powerful!"

"Look at them now! They're getting ready to attack! Young lady, are you getting this?"

Ochaco felt her lips twitch upward and nodded. Both Rabbit and the Lone Wolf were in her sights now, fists clenched around their weapons- a harp and a baton respectively- and grinning up at the villain, now in the center of the crosswalk instead of looming in front of the crowd. It was a perfectly placed picture, all captured in the screen of the camera. "I've got it all."

Rabbit gripped the harp in his hand, his fingers slipped between each of the strings to get a better hold. It was the shape of a teardrop, and sharp along the curve, making it fantastic for a handheld axe or a blunt force weapon, but the real magic came through the music. If Rabbit managed to tear the Akuma out of the villain, he could play a melody to cleanse it. The hard part was getting close enough to the villains to _get_ the Akuma. But that's what the Lone Wolf was for.

The Lone Wolf's black baton twirled between his fingers, the threat played up by the sharp toothed smirk on his face. There were two burlap diamonds attached to each end of the baton that held in an explosive material that combusted on impact. Whatever Lone smacked with a diamond promptly detonated, and the best part was that there was no limit to how many times he could use these explosions. Well, none that anyone knew of.

The baton was perfect for long range combat, and in addition to Rabbit's close range harp, they made a force to be reckoned with.

Lone swung first. The baton stretched and grew several meters in order to reach the villain- just one of the many magical properties it possessed- and exploded strongly on impact, sending the villain stumbling off to one side.

Next, it was Rabbit's turn- the green superhero soaring in from the left so quickly that Ochaco couldn't even process how he got there, and the harp bludgeoned the villain's face so hard that Ochaco could hear the crack even from all the way across the crosswalk.

The villain reacted immediately, grabbing Rabbit's leg and swinging him in a wide arc before letting him fly straight into the side of a building. But Rabbit was fast- faster than human. The moment he landed, red shoes on brick, he springboarded right back.

In the split second it took for Rabbit to bounce back, Lone struck, blasting the villain from behind to catch him off guard. Then he swung up like an acrobat, wrapped the baton around his throat, and yanked him backward into a chokehold, effectively rendering him shocked just as Rabbit came in from the front, swiping the blade of his harp at an accessory Ochaco never noticed before- a thick belt around his waist.

The belt snapped in two, and a blast of wind burst forth, purple mist spewing out and relasing a large, winged creature, which promptly fluttered away into the sky. But Rabbit was two steps ahead. Like a boomerang, he threw the harp out and it soared in an arc, catching the butterfly in its strings. Rabbit leaped to fetch it as it came back, and, wasting no time, strummed three chords.

The harp glowed brightly, enveloping the dark purple butterfly in a fleeting, almost angelic light. The light pulsed, and burst out, and then, like a shooting star, the butterfly, now white as snow, took flight.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," Rabbit breathed, watching it go.

The light from the harp expanded and swept out over the area, reversing the damage to whatever it touched. The crosswalk, the buildings, and the road all repaired, leaving Shibuya as though it hadn't been touched.

Ochaco and the others stood by in awe, watching everything patch together like magic. The camera struggled to focus through all the blinding light, and turned out blurry when the magic finally died. She managed to clear up the picture just as the villain dissipated into waves of purple mist, leaving nothing behind except a confused, groggy looking man in what appeared to be a wrestling costume.

Lone grinned at Rabbit, leaning up on the other hero's shoulder and pulling his attention. He held up a closed fist. "Go beyond, baby."

Rabbit chuckled softly, bumping the fist with his own.

"Plus Ultra."

* * *

Ochaco had never been interviewed before in her life, making the onslaught of crazy questions a bit too much for her to handle.

Rabbit and Lone had left long before the press arrived, which was probably for the best. As much as it saddened Ochaco that she couldn't get more pictures or details on the heroes, she understood how overwhelmed they'd get by the sudden onslaught of anchors.

After all, the press that surrounded the crosswalk were thick in numbers and crowded the area even more than the bystanders had. There was a giant camera everywhere Ochaco turned, and a journalist always within an arm's length. They were all over the story that was the- now purified- Akuma, flooding the poor man with various interrogations, wanting to know as much about his Akumatizing as possible, but there really wasn't much the man could say. All memory flies out the window during such an episode. It was really all up to the witnesses to testify.

And Ochaco was not just any witness. She was a witness with footage.

"Excuse me, young lady, is it true you caught the whole thing on video?" One of the anchors asked excitedly, shoving a microphone in her face.

"Are you planning to release it to the public?" Another one jumped in.

"What about the picture and audio? What did you manage to catch?"

"Well, uh..." Ochaco chuckled awkwardly, trying to ward them back with her hands. It was a little overwhelming to have so many questions thrown at her at once, but nevertheless, she felt she had to take advantage of it. After all, What was the shame in self advertisement in situations like this? "Yes, I plan to upload the video to my blog! Are any of you familiar with the Heroblog? It's a page dedicated exclusively to Rabbit and the Lone Wolf! Pictures, articles, videos, _theories!_ Run by yours truly. Look me up, join the herofam!"

As the anchors nodded and laughed, Ochaco smiled. Rabbit and the Lone Wolf were a uniting factor that brought people together in wonder and hope.

They were so otherworldly. So _fascinating_!

Now if only she knew _who they were._

* * *

 ** _"Miraculous Ladybug and My Hero?" Believe it or not, this is actually pretty fun to write. I'll be posting hopefully every week, each chapter an episode. Let me know what you guys think! Reviews are very welcome!_**

 ** _-DFTM_**


	2. REFERENCE

**Midoriya Izuku**

 **Age** : 15

 **Occupation** : A first year student in the top notch Yuuei Private Academy

 **Kwami** : Ichi (EE-chi), the rabbit miraculous, offering enhanced strength and speed

 **Alias** : Rabbit, the Symbol of Hope

.

 **Bakugou Katsuki**

 **Age** : 16

 **Occupation** : A first year student in the top notch Yuuei Private Academy

 **Kwami** : Boomi, the wolf miraculous, offering destructive power

 **Alias** : the Lone Wolf

.

 **Yagi Toshinori**

 **Age** : ?

 **Occupation** : Keeper of rescued kwamis. Guards the Miraculouses.

 **Kwami** : Ichi (formerly)

 **Alias** : All Might, Symbol of Peace. He is only remembered in America.

.

 **Name:** ?

 **Age** : ?

 **Occupation** : The most powerful supervillain in Japan. Corrupts Miraculouses.

 **Kwami** : Wan, the basilisk miraculous, offering manipulation and the power to copy the power of other Miraculouses

 **Alias** : ALL FOR ONE


	3. Episode 1: CHARGEBOLT

Seven a.m. and Midoriya Izuku was already freaking out.

Whispered curses could be heard in the dark as he stumbled and tripped through his room, shining the light from his phone all around but never finding what he was looking for. The light switch on the wall was turned up, but the bulb on his ceiling stayed stubbornly cold, just another inconvenience the power outage provided. Honestly, this was like the fifth one this week.

But that wasn't what Izuku was so upset about.

"Come on, come on..." He pleaded, fumbling through a pile of clothes on the ground. a Superman hoodie and a few band tees fell away in his hands, revealing a clean floor underneath. "Where is it...!"

A tiny voice piped up near his ear. "Did you look under your pillow?"

Izuku nodded irritably. "Of course, that was the first place I looked!"

"Please, just stay calm, Izu-chan." The voice soothed, and the source fluttered around in front of him, wide little eyes blinking earnestly up into his own. "You have thirty more minutes. Try and retrace your steps."

A frustrated sigh. Izuku leaned on his heels and fell back to sit against the wall, rubbing his eyes and thinking hard. He came back _extremely_ late last night, having been working almost until dawn. He hardly remembered anything he'd done the last few minutes before he collapsed on his bed. He never took it off except to shower, but he didn't shower last night, did he? Did he lose it while changing into his sleepwear? Did its latch come undone?

If there was anything to panic about this morning, it wasn't the power outage- it was his missing miraculous.

" _Izuku!_ "

Izuku jumped, hitting his head against the wall. He yelped and grabbed at it, trying to rub away the dull throb from beneath his messy curls.

"Uh... yeah, Mom?"

" _Breakfast is ready, sweetie! I hope you're getting ready for school!_ "

"Uh... yeah, Mom!"

Ready for school? Crap, that's right. He only had thirty minutes before he had to get walking, and he couldn't be late _again_. But even so, going anywhere without his miraculous wasn't a good idea in the slightest. Maybe... maybe if he kept looking for _twenty_ more minutes...

"You should really go eat something, Izu-chan." The small voice came again, and Izuku peeked over at where his kwami sat on his shoulder, blinking up with those big green eyes. "You haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday. I could feel it really wore you out last night. You need to keep your strength up."

"For what hero work?" Izuku mumbled. "Can't transform if I don't have my miraculous."

"Let me handle that for now. I'll keep looking while you get something in your stomach."

Another long, long sigh. As much as Izuku hated the idea of stopping his search, he knew his kwami had his best interests at heart. After all, there really was nothing he was good for if he collapsed of starvation the minute something came up. He dragged himself back to his feet, wiping the exhaustion from his eyes.

"Let me know if you find it, Ichi." He relented, giving the little green bunny a tired smile.

Ichi grinned and twitched his floppy ears.

Out in the kitchen, his mother had already lit the candles, giving the whole apartment a lovely mint smell and casting everything in a warm yellow glow. The drapes on the dining room window were wide open but the sun just barely peeking over the hill did little to bring in light. Izuku dragged himself to the table and flopped into his seat, propping his elbows on the tabletop and cradling his face in his hands,

His mother looked back at him from where she was tossing together a salad. Usually she'd prepare something hot, but the stovetop was out of commission for now. That was alright, though- Izuku didn't think he could stomach anything larger than the salad for now.

"Where are your table manners, young man?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he groaned, dragging his elbows from the tabletop. With a satisfied 'hmm', she turned back to the salad and started scooping some onto a few plates. "And what's with that attitude? Don't tell me you stayed up all night on your phone."

"Uh." Izuku chewed his lip, absentmindedly putting his elbows back on the table. _Wasn't my phone that kept me up._ "Sure."

"Honey, you know you're only doing it to yourself. You'd feel much better in the mornings if you went to bed earlier."

 _Sure, just lemme tell the villains that._ "Mmkay."

She turned around with two plates of salad and a couple of forks, and nudged his elbows back off the table with the plate she pushed in front of him. "Here you go. You can have this with some orange juice if you'd like, but don't keep the fridge open for too long. We want to keep it cool in there until the power comes back on."

"Sure, Mom."

The salad was cool and crunchy, and the process of eating really helped to wake him up. As soon as he'd finished off the last few vegetables, he rushed to dispose of his dishes and made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Five minutes in the shower, Izuku, no longer!" His mother called after him. "We want to save our hot water!"

"Mmkay!" He shone his phone light around the bathroom until he found the candles, and lit them up with the small box of matches in the cupboard.

The bathroom now lit, Izuku shut and locked the door, pleasantly surprised to find his school uniform hanging on the back of it. Maybe that's where he left it last night. He began unbuttoning the gray and green jacket to get it ready for when he got out of the shower, and then froze when he saw something gleam.

Right there, around the hanger hook, was a silver choker, the diamond shaped jewel in the middle glinting in the candlelight.

Izuku huffed. _There you are._

* * *

The power came back on just in time for Izuku to catch the subway. Everyone cheered and clapped as the conductor ushered everyone aboard, and Izuku met up with his friends like always, finding a few seats near the door.

Uraraka Ochaco was the first to start the chatter, as always. She was practically vibrating with giddiness as she yanked on his jacket sleeve, her eyes holding a mischievous gleam.

"Deku-kun, you will _never_ guess what happened to me yesterday!"

Izuku had a bit of a feeling he did. Nevertheless, he smiled down at her and played up his best curiosity face. "What? What happened?"

She sucked in a huge breath between her teeth and squealed with glee. " _I met Rabbit! I met Rabbit at Shibuya! Eeee!_ "

Izuku raised his eyebrows in pretend shock. "Wow, _really_?!"

On her other side, Iida Tenya jolted forward, his mouth agape and his arms already starting to swing as he spoke. "Oh my gosh! You met _Rabbit_ , Uraraka?! _The_ Rabbit?!"

"The one and only!" She squealed again, louder this time, and the people around her began casting looks of disapproval, but she didn't care. "There was this massive villain, and he was coming right at me with his huge fists but then _BANG_!" she smashed a fist into her other hand. "Rabbit jumped in front of me and blocked the blow like it was nothing! _Nothing_! I caught it all on camera- you guys _have_ to look up the video up on my blog, it was the coolest thing!"

"Did the Lone Wolf show up as well?!" Iida demanded excitedly.

"They were both there! Here, here- gimme your phone, Iida, lemme look it up on my blog, I'll show you guys the video _right now_!"

Izuku smiled warmly as Uraraka continued to babble on about superheroes, snatching Iida's phone and typing erratically into the Google search bar. He couldn't help the swell of pride in his chest to see them both so excited about his bright green persona. Absentmindedly, he reached into his pocket, petting Ichi on the head as his kwami giggled softly and purred.

As soon as they arrived at Yuuei Private Academy, they all rushed to the front gates, tugging each other along and casting urgent looks at their phones to check the time- they only had four minutes until class started. They showed the gate guard their student IDs and bolted into the school.

"If Aizawa-sensei's already there, he's going to kill us!" Uraraka groaned, picking up her pace.

Iida scolded her for running in the halls, instead slowing them all to a brisk walk. "I'm sure he'll understand due to the power outage. It's not our fault that the subway was out of commission after all."

They made it just in time, but it wasn't as though it mattered, anyway. Aizawa wasn't there yet, and although it should've been a surprise that someone as prestigious as a Yuuei professor was actually late to his own class, it really wasn't. Aizawa was the ultimate definition of a teacher that never agreed to be a teacher. At least today was one of his late days, and any lagging student could get away with tardiness without any repercussions.

All around the classroom, students chattered and lounged; from the eccentric, pink haired Ashido to the gothic, pierced face of Tokoyami. Hagakure showed off her new makeup to Asui and Aoyama while Yaoyorozu helped Ojiro last minute with his homework. Kirishima leaned back on his chair, laughing loudly with Sero, and Kaminari sat cross-legged on top of his desk, grinning at his phone while it charged from the power socket nearby.

"Finally!" He pumped his fist. "I wasn't able to charge it this morning due to the stupid power outage. It's been bugging me all morning! I swear I can't do _anything_ without electricity."

"That's why you plug it in at night, stupid!" Kirishima laughed. Kaminari grinned and kicked him in the chest, knocking him off balance and sending him toppling to the ground with a shriek. Everyone around him burst into cackles.

Iida, however, did not find this very amusing.

"Kaminari!" He scolded, karate chopping the air erratically. "That kind of behavior is unacceptable! And get off that desktop right now! It is highly disrespectful to the school and your classmates!"

"Chill out, man."

"I will not 'chill out'! You are a student of Yuuei Private Academy! We have a reputation to uphold!"

"Well, I ain't tryin to impress anyone."

While Iida and Kaminari continued to argue, Izuku took his seat in the third row, hanging his backpack on the wings of his chair and pulling out his notebooks. The excitable atmosphere of the classroom helped ward away any of his lingering drowsiness, but it was debatable how long that would last- he was mostly worried about the after lunch classes that dragged. Math... History... he couldn't guarantee he'd stay awake during those.

Ichi must've sensed this, peeking his little nose out of Izuku's pocket.

"Don't worry," He whispered with a wink. "I'll give you a nip if I catch you nodding off."

Izuku chuckled and playfully shoved Ichi's nose back into his pocket.

* * *

Lunch came quickly, and Izuku had to force an uncomfortable smile on his face while a huge crowd of students gathered around Uraraka to watch the video she took of him and Lone yesterday. Iida swung his arms around and demanded personal space, but Uraraka hushed him and let them lean in closer to get a better look. Needless to say, Izuku finished lunch a lot quicker than his friends and left the cafeteria with a desperate need for fresh air.

"You hardly touched your rice." Ichi scolded once they entered empty hallways.

"Can you blame me? Forget eating, I could hardly breathe in there!"

"That's no excuse!"

"You'll have to excuse me anyway." Izuku hummed, turning the corner to get back to homeroom. "I mean, I shared some of it with you, after all."

As he neared the classroom, though, he was surprised by a sudden flickering of the lights. He stopped where he was, looking up and around. The afternoon sun shone in from the windows, but the bright bulbs quite noticeably left the halls darker than before.

"The power's going out again." Izuku murmured, and Ichi peeked from his pocket to see. "Classroom's going to be pretty dark."

Sure enough, once he reached homeroom, the door was wide open to show off its pitch black interior, power completely off. Izuku fished for his phone so he could turn on the flashlight, and that's when he heard it.

"No-no-no-no come _on_! I'm only on two percent!"

 _Kaminari?_

Izuku peeked into the classroom to see a dim light cast over his classmate's face from the corner of the room. It was too dark to see, but Izuku reckoned he was hunched beside the power socket from earlier, desperately trying to charge his phone despite the absence of electricity. As he watched, Kaminari got up and yelled in frustration, tossing his phone across the room. The little square light bounced across the carpet several times before settling up against Aizawa's podium.

"Shoulda done it last night. Stupid power. Stupid, _stupid_ electricity." Kaminari grumbled sorrowfully.

Izuku sucked on his lower lip thoughtfully before making a dutiful turn on his heel, trotting his way up the hall and convincing himself that a short trip to the drinking fountain was in favor. In any case, it was better than dealing with an angry Kaminari.

* * *

Meanwhile, the students all gathered back into the cafeteria, well lit due to all the windows. Staff informed them that since the classrooms were too dark for teaching, they'd take a short break and wait for a bit for the power to return. If it didn't come back in half an hour, Yamada-sensei (nicknamed Present Mic because of how obnoxiously loud he was) would be bringing a battery operated projector into the cafeteria for a presentation lecture.

When Izuku walked in, Uraraka and Iida waved over to him, beckoning him back to their table. Izuku smiled and waved back, and was just about to get going when-

"Oof!" Izuku tripped, stumbling rather ungracefully to the floor and hitting his elbows on the tile. A short bark of a laugh accompanied his fall, and he looked up to see his least favorite person smirking down at him.

"Wow, Deku." Bakugou Katsuki snorted, arching an eyebrow. "You know, it's not sanitary to be leaving garbage on the floor."

 _Oh? Shall I toss you in the can, then?_ Izuku wanted so badly to say, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he delivered a rather flat glare back up to his old childhood friend and bully. There was really nothing he could do about the nasty rivalry between him and Katsuki, after all. Well... there was, but it wasn't ' _acceptable behavior_ ', and Izuku liked to keep his record clean.

It was as he was picking himself up that it happened.

The overspeaker suddenly began to crackle, and the students looked up in surprise. The lights were flickering fast, humming like a swarm of flies, and over in the cafeteria kitchen, several appliances began to turn on by themselves.

"Whoa- is the power back on already?" Someone asked.

"That's weird, who's on the overspeaker?" Came another.

"The stove turned on by itself. Should we be worried?"

Something about the way the power was returning wasn't sitting quite right with Izuku. A quick glance down to where Ichi was peeking out of his pocket confirmed it wasn't sitting well with his kwami, either. And it all came together with a cherry on top as soon as the overspeaker relayed a voice.

" _Good afternoon, students of Yuuei._ " It was loud and staticy, but it was unmistakable. That was Kaminari, and he sounded very, very off. " _Staff, faculty. This may come as a_ shock _\- ha ha!- but the system seems to have acquired a little_ bug."

Kaminari's phone... his negative emotions...

Crap. _Crap_.

" _Hope you all enjoyed your electricity while it lasted_ ," Kaminari laughed. " _because Japan's going dark tonight!_ "

And just like that, the power cut.

* * *

It took longer than Izuku would have liked to get out of the lunch room. Students panicked and began to stand up and bolt around, and the teachers all started yelling to get them all to quiet down. Almost every exit was blocked by a teacher or a group of freaked out students, and in the end, Izuku resorted to crawling on his hands and knees to squeeze past them. In the back of his mind he could hear Uraraka and Iida calling out for him worriedly, but he pushed back his guilt for the sake of everyone's safety.

He needed to get somewhere secluded.

He stumbled to his feet once he was finally in the hallway, pressing up against the walls and hiding in the shadows so that none of the teachers could see him. The closest place he could go to so that he could quietly transform would be the bathroom, but he didn't want to risk anyone walking in on him.

"You'll just have to be quick," Ichi piped up from his pocket. "Now hurry! Your classmate could be anywhere by now!"

So he ran.

Little did he know, a couple of hallways down, someone else was hurrying toward an empty teacher's lounge. The flashlight on his phone swept from side to side, lighting up the area to make extra sure no one was around to see him.

"Ugh- no one's here!" An exasperated squeak complained, a slight _thwip_ cutting across the air until something small and furry floated in front of the boy's face. "Just transform already! I'm _itching_ to get out there and blow that sucker up!"

"You and me both," Came the reply in a huff. "But _you're_ the one blathering about keeping my identity a secret, so don't you go getting smart with _me_ about being careful!"

"Oh, roll back the attitude, Katsuki!" The kwami snarked.

His holder rolled his red-gold eyes, and tapped on the bracelet secured around his wrist. "Come on, Boomi. Transform me!"

* * *

He called himself 'Chargebolt'.

It was a name borne of frustration and a chaotic need to acquire something that he felt he couldn't live without- _the power of electricity_. It sparked at his fingertips and crackled through his veins, and when he touched live wires he could feel the power draining into his body.

It was jolting, the voltage. Raw energy that gave him a static high. He felt powerful- he felt _amazing_. Honestly, why hadn't he done this sooner?

The butterfly had been a glowing purple-black; very threatening in appearance and even more threatening when it fluttered close, getting up in his face and around his head. but the minute it touched his phone, he could feel it. The power that it offered. The power that _he_ offered.

All he asked was the Miraculouses of Rabbit and the Lone Wolf.

Such a mundane request. A bracelet and a choker. How hard could it be? And then all this power... he could use it for whatever he wanted. However he wanted. Whenever he wanted. To no limits and no restrictions and no regard... and he knew exactly what he wanted.

The power outages were annoying and horribly bothersome... but they were a nuisance Chargebolt was willing to fix. _Permanently_. After all, one's power couldn't fail if it wasn't there to begin with, now could it?

First, he would traverse the country, town to town, city to city, and suck out every last bit of electricity from each and every power plant. Then he would revel in his unlimited power, perhaps power a giant mansion for his own, his own cars, his own big flat screens. He could certainly charge his own phone. And perhaps... if they paid him well enough... he'd start distributing little portions of power right back to the people.

And if anyone tried to get in his way? That was easy- _he'd zap them_.

Now he stood atop a water tower, looking out over the city of Tokyo, a broad smile on his face as his skin sparked with golden volts.

Ah, yes. First thing's first- he had some superheroes to catch.

* * *

The first thing Izuku did as Rabbit was rush back into the lunch room, earning gasps and squeals from the students inside and wide-eyed looks from the teachers. He demanded silence, and he received it with no complaint. He then ordered the adults to keep the everyone inside the school for their own safety, and to call the police.

It was his duty as the Symbol of Hope to ensure the safety of others. It was his top priority.

His _partner_ , on the other hand...

" _Where is he?_ " Izuku muttered, feeling irritation claw its way through his stomach. He ran using Ichi's power, glowing green and lighting up the alleyways around him. He slowed for just a moment to look up, gauge the distance to the rooftops, before he jumped up onto the wall and springboarded between the buildings, leaping his way to the top.

It was always Lone's way to spring straight into the fight, disregarding onlookers and the matters of rescue. If Lone could pick between rushing people out of a burning building or tackling the person who set it on fire, he'd chose the latter, no questions asked. Civilian safety had never been at the top of his list when he went after Akumas.

Needless to say, Lone received no trophies for rescue.

In any case, it was probably better that way. Rabbit was the better one when it came to public civilian interaction. There were always reassurances to offer, questions to answer- not to mention all the phones pointed at you. Lone was rather camera shy to begin with, not to mention terrible at keeping up a good image with that foul mouth of his. Rabbit did all the talking. Rabbit did all the saving. Lone preferred to do the dirty work.

It was a very dependable aspect of Lone, to be honest. Responsibilities split so evenly between them, it made capturing an Akuma all the easier. The only real problem he had with the guy was-

" _Hellooooo Cottontail!~_ "

Izuku dug his heels into the shingles of the rooftop, skidding to a stop and looking up to see a black and brown blur leap over him, somersaulting a few times before making a crouched landing right in front of him.

The Lone Wolf wore a black leather jumpsuit, a long, fluffy brown tail flitting out behind him. In spiky blonde hair poked two equally spiky brown dog ears that twitched around, searching for sounds. Sharp canines glinted up at Izuku when Lone smiled at him- that stupid smile that he always put on especially for him.

Ah, yes. The _flirting_.

"Didn't think I'd get to see you again so soon, bunny boy." He straightened up, a whole three inches taller than Izuku. He leaned down to Izuku's level, getting real close so he could meet his eyes, red-gold on green. "Especially not after such a _long night of fun_ ~"

"It took until three a.m. to knock out that villain." Izuku told the blonde flatly, pushing him away with a finger on his nose. "It was hardly fun."

"Well, sleeping on my shoulder _was_ an option. It was your loss for not taking it."

"We were behind an overturned car while _boulders were being hurled at us_."

"So the timing could've been better! The offer still stands, by the way!"

"Well, not right now." Izuku turned to look over the city, lights beginning to flick on as the sun slowly began to dip. "If you haven't heard already, our new target is a corrupted Yuuei student."

Lone hummed and strained his ears, looking out over Tokyo as well. "You mean from that uptight private academy on the hill across town? Where all the _handsome_ _rich kids_ go?"

If Lone was trying to drop subtle hints about his identity to Rabbit (which he was) Izuku genuinely didn't catch it. He nodded absentmindedly, squinting to find any trace of Kaminari Denki. "That's the one. We're looking for a first year; fifteen, blonde hair and skinny arms. Possibly covered in electricity."

"Nice. Like me a challenge. He'll never know what hit him."

* * *

Turns out, they didn't have to go far.

Chargebolt didn't even try to keep his power hidden, strolling right out where everyone could see him and sparking ominously with electric, golden volts. He laughed maniacally, scaring most of the citizens around him, grabbing onto streetlights and power chords, causing the whole of Tokyo Square to flicker erratically and send people into a panic.

Lone grinned and readied himself to pounce, but Izuku grabbed him by the scruff, yanking him into a crouch on the rooftop.

"Not yet," Izuku urged. "Let the civilians clear out. We'll need a wide perimeter if we're dealing with electricity, especially here of all places."

"What do you mean?" Lone hissed impatiently, and Izuku grabbed his chin and pointed his face toward the giant screens on the buildings, the glowing signs and streetlights on every corner. It was practically the motherload of electric appliances, and there were probably plenty, plenty more in every building around them. They couldn't afford to be careless here.

They watched as people quickly filtered out of the main square. Phones came out to capture videos, but every single one popped in the civilian's hand, bursting into flames and smoldering as it was quickly discarded with a yelp. People screamed for the police, and those in the area attempted to get close. But every one that came within a ten meter radium was quickly taken care of with a zap to the chest. Tranquilizers were useless, for no bullet could penetrate the electric wall that Chargebolt set up around him.

Soon, the street was empty except for a group of spread out officers. If there was any time to interfere, it was now.

"The Akuma must be in his phone," Izuku told Lone quickly. "Do you think you could cover me from the left?"

"And the right, and the back and the front and the bottom, and especially the _top_." Lone winked, and Izuku couldn't help but return his smile. "Who do you take me for? But you'd better be covering me in return."

"Count on it. Let's go."

* * *

Kaminari Denki had never felt something quite as amazing as holding seven hundred thousand volts in his very body. Without the purple butterfly, there was no doubt he'd be dead by now, but all he could think about was the buzz buzz _buzz_ in his veins, the _zap_ of it flowing through his systems and thrumming with his heartbeat- the fantastic sensation of feeling it discharge through his fingers, burning at his fingertips and then striking out at whatever he could see.

Although... it was getting harder and harder to control it. More than he cared to admit. Bolts of lightning shot out at random the higher his voltage became, hitting everything and nothing and sparking erratically over his body, untamed. This was going to be more difficult than he anticipated.

His eyes glowed, electromagnetism granting him sight through solid walls. People were running around, pushing and shoving to get out of Tokyo Square, hiding within the alleyways and buildings nearby and hoping they wouldn't be seen. Chargebolt _could_ see them. But he wasn't interested in petty civilians like them.

No... he was more interested in the distinctly-shaped silhouette on the roof of a karaoke bar across the street. _What a smart little bunny, finding me so quickly_.

Chargebolt pointed two fingers at the rooftop and fired an electric bolt.

 _ZAP!_ The roof of the building was blasted with light... as well as the building next to it, the building across the street from it, and a random point on the road behind him (Yikes, that shot was a bit unstable). A dark shadow zipped across it, quickly disappearing into a nearby alley. He would be invisible to the naked eye, but Chargebolt had x-ray vision on his side, quickly finding and pinpointing the hero before aiming and taking fire again. Once again, he missed, instead hitting two hanging plants, both sides of the alley, the trees in front of the karaoke bar and a pothole. Curses.

Rabbit leapt out into the open, taking the center of Tokyo Square and brandishing his sharp-edged harp. That weapon would pose a problem in close range, but Chargebolt wasn't worried about that. He had an electrical aura around him that would prevent Rabbit from getting too up and personal. The green hero's options were low, and Chargebolt would be exploiting every inch of that.

"Hand over the Miraculous, bunny boy," Chargebolt called, playing with a few bolts between his splayed fingers.

Rabbit tilted up his head to shout. " _Or what?!_ "

"Or I fry you like a chicken nugget!"

" _But I'm vegan_!" Rabbit lifted his shoulders.

Chargebolt blinked. He genuinely didn't have a response for that. But with Rabbit starting to spin his harp around his fingers, he was losing time quickly. He charged up again, hopefully more threatening than before, and began to circle left. He hoped to spiral in closer, just close enough so that his erratic power would have a higher chance of hitting its mark. Rabbit followed suit. He was tense but he did not attack. He seemed to be waiting for Chargebolt to make the first move.

He could do that.

"Last chance, bunny." Chargebolt grinned, building up the charge in his right hand. "Why don't you run? It'll be more fun that way. I'd love some target practice."

The harp steadied in Rabbit's hands at last, his gloved fingers gripping in between the strings like he regularly did when he used it as a weapon. The hero shrugged. "I've never been partial for hunting season. Being a cute little critter and all." He tilted his head and offered a precious smile. Well, Chargbolt could agree there. He _was_ cute.

But that didn't matter. Chargebolt lifted his sparking right hand. "You won't be once I take that choker of yours!"

 _BANG!_

And then, all Chargebolt could see was white. Heat flared up from behind as sensation finally set in, and Chargebolt yelped to feel his right shoulder stinging from the burn of an explosion. Through the tint of electro-vision, Chargebolt saw the Lone Wolf leaping away, his explosive staff twirling from hand to hand and a low smirk on his face.

"Yo, Dunce-face!" The Wolf yelled. " _Get your_ own _magic fursuit_!"

 _Curses! I forgot about that stupid dog!_

Chargebolt whirled on the Wolf, letting loose several hundred volts. The discharge zapped sporadically around the Square, and the Wolf grunted as he dodged several bolts of light- crouching low and keeping close to signs and lampposts, which diverted the trajectory of the electricity. Chargebolt growled, feeling frustration start to take root.

 _Ugh- would you just!_

Fire _._

 _Hold!_

Fire _._

 _Still!_

 _Zap! Zap! Zap!_ All around Tokyo Square things were popping and bursting, hitting everything _except_ Chargebolt's targets. Rabbit and the Wolf sprung left and right and all around, keeping close to appliances that would take the bolts instead. Rabbit would then jump in close for a feint, and Chargebolt would whirl on him only to be blasted in the back by the Wolf's baton. They repeated this once, twice, three times before Chargebolt caught onto the pattern, and outright ignored Rabbit's last fakeout, instead turning around just in time to catch the Wolf swooping in for another blast.

Wolf's baton came down and Chargebolt lashed out to grab it, gripping it by the metal staff and sending out a devastating shock, momentarily making his sparking aura disappear. The baton glowed with the power, but Wolf had thought fast, using his momentum to release hold of the staff before it could electrocute him, flipping over Chargebolt and landing behind him, next to Rabbit. Before Chargbolt could power up his aura again, the both of them reared back their fists- or harp in Rabbit's case- and punched him directly on the back of the neck.

Chargebolt flew forward, catching himself on a lamppost and staggering. He powered up the aura again, this time a little less certain.

He was getting slower. For some reason, he couldn't think as well as he could before. He genuinely felt _stupider_. What could it be? His ADHD had been heightened with the electricity, making him quicker, more impulsive, but now it was all... slowing down. His reflexes dulled. He couldn't _think_.

What was _happening_ to him?

* * *

"He's getting slower." Rabbit murmured, the ears in his hair perking up. Katsuki spun away from the sparks on Kaminari, ducking in close to Rabbit to make sure he heard that right.

"You call that slow?" He hissed, retrieving his fallen baton. "That moron nearly fried me!"

His partner's green eyes were wide and shining with thought. He ducked behind a tipped semi and Katsuki followed, crouching next to him as he started thinking aloud.

"He's absorbed power from the power sources around him and it's ultimately made him stronger, faster, more aware; likely heightened his ADHD, making his reflexes so much better. But the more he uses it, the more power he discharges and lets go of, the slower he's getting, as though his reflexes are determined by the amount of electricity within him..." Rabbit muttered quickly, tapping his mouth with his fingers.

Katsuki grunted in frustration. "Look, Cottontail, I love you, but could you break this all down a _little faster_?!"

"Lone!" Rabbit whirled on him, and Katsuki twitched. "The stronger the discharge, the quicker he malfunctions! We've gotta fry his brain!"

 _That's more like it, you dumb bunny._ "Great! So we gotta really piss him off, then!"

"That's _your_ specialty." Rabbit smirked.

Katsuki couldn't argue there. "You know it is. Leave that to me. You just do your thing making sure no citizens get caught in the crossfire."

"Roger that."

With a shared nod, Katsuki turned and rushed back out into the open. Chargebolt found him fast and immediately fired off again, his wild electric aura hitting pretty much everything within a five meter radius. Katsuki dodged and dodged, but it was incredibly hard with how fast Chargebolt was; if Rabbit could see this as 'slow' then he must have _really_ been paying attention. But Rabbit was good at analysis like that, so really, it was no surprise.

Time to get Pikachu pissed.

"Oi, Dunce-face!" Katsuki whistled loudly from atop a lamppost, and Chargebolt whirled to find him. He really _was_ getting slower. "I've seen more Stormtroopers with better aim than you!"

Chargebolt growled, his body crackling with blue and white. He pointed with two fingers and fired off again, and Katsuki jumped out of the way just in time for the shock to hit the lamppost, five surrounding cars, and two garbage cans. Katsuki landed behind the boy, taking out his baton and swatting him on the back. The combustive tip exploded on contact, throwing Chargebolt forward. Before he could get up again, Katsuki jumped to the boy's left and hit him again, then again from the right, then from above and then from the left and from the back, again and again. Chargebolt twisted and turned, crackling and zapping but it was all futile. Katsuki was always one step ahead and one step out of reach.

Finally, Chargebolt clenched his fists and powered up for one massive surge. At first, Katsuki congratulated himself on drawing him into the trap... but them he felt his hair stand on end. A distinct crackle filled the air, and the strong smell of ozone filtered in. Lightbulbs popped all around Tokyo Square- the range was massive, there was no way Katsuki had the time to get out of here!

Chargebolt was setting himself up for the fryer but he'd be taking Katsuki with him.

 _Crap, crap, crap-!_

Chargebolt discharged.

 _Whoosh!_

All went dark. At first Katsuki thought he'd bit the dust, but then he felt a couple of small arms link around him and throw him to the ground, and the feeling of something heavy settle over the both of them. Was this a blanket? In any case, it wasn't hard at all to recognize the shape of his partner on top of him, shielding him from that incredible _zap_ from outside.

It lasted several seconds, loud and coming from everywhere at once. Nothing pierced through the black of the heavy blanket, however, leaving Katsuki to wonder where the heck Rabbit found such a good insulator sheet.

The noise died, and everything fell silent, leaving only the smell of ozone behind. Light returned as Rabbit lifted up one end of the sheet, panting softly from his run to catch Katsuki.

Everything was quiet. Tokyo Square suddenly felt incredibly empty.

"Where is he?" Katsuki asked breathlessly.

Rabbit tossed the sheet off of them, and stood, stepping off of his partner. He held out a hand, but Katsuki simply pushed himself to his feet. He had to keep his composure! Rabbit wouldn't be _impressed_ by seeing he needed assistance like that!

And Chargebolt...

"Wheeey..." The blonde giggled, tossing around a few thumbs up. He wandered around the square, grinning stupidly. His eyes were unfocused.

Wow. They did it. They actually fried his brain.

"Will you do the honors?" Katsuki threw a smirk at Rabbit. His partner smiled and pulled out his harp.

* * *

The music from Izuku's harp set everything back to the way it was. Kaminari was a little confused and extremely dazed, so Izuku found it in his best interests to escort him home rather than back to school. He picked the boy up piggyback and after a quick word with the police officers in Tokyo Square, he set off. Lone joined him, both hands resting behind his spiky blonde head.

Their powers made it a piece of cake jumping over rooftops and cutting corners, and it only took ten minutes to reach Kaminari's home. In no time they were back above the city, and Izuku took a moment to stop atop a skyscraper, looking out as the sun dropped low on the horizon. One by one, lights in the city were returning, shining brighter than ever.

Lone stepped up beside him, admiring the view. "Another day, another victory."

"Look at it." Izuku breathed. "It's all back. The power outage is over."

"Must've been your magic music." Lone laughed. His arm fell over Izuku's shoulders, and the green haired boy looked up at Lone, meeting the latter's red-gold eyes. The Lone Wolf's sharp features were cast in shadow as the sunlight disappeared. He looked good. "Thanks for the save out there."

Izuku smiled. "It's what I do best, isn't it?"

The fingers on his shoulders tightened a little. Lone's mouth tweaked into a smirk. "What else you good at?" Ah, there it is.

Izuku raised his eyebrows and allowed his expression to fall flat. " _Sleeping_." He said. "I barely got any last night. I'm afraid this," He unhooked Lone's arm around his shoulders. "is where we part ways tonight. I'll see you next time?"

Lone laughed.

"Yeah. See you next time."

* * *

" _Deku-kun!_ "

Uraraka practically flew into Izuku's arms, nearly toppling the both of them. Thankfully, Iida was nearby to steady them. He looked every bit as anxious as Uraraka sounded.

"Midoriya! Where on earth did you _go_ yesterday?!" The square-shouldered boy demanded, waving his arms erratically. "We were ever so worried! When the police arrived to escort everyone home, they never found you!"

"Oh!" Izuku held up his hands and shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Iida, I was fine! I uh, freaked out when Kaminari went rogue and I left the school in a hurry."

"You _ditched_?!" Uraraka gasped. "Without _telling us_?!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Izuku genuinely felt horrible about leaving his friends behind like that. He should have known this was how they'd react. "I panicked."

His friends sighed. Iida reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm just glad to see you're alright, Midoriya. Please, contact us next time."

"For sure."

Across the classroom, people swarmed Kaminari, demanding the details of his akumatization, and what it was like to be a villain. The poor boy didn't seem sure how to respond.

"It was... scary." Kaminari admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't remember much at all, but... that power felt dark. Really dark. I don't want to feel that dark ever again... ya know?"

There was a snort, and heads turned to look at Bakugou Katsuki. The spiky blonde had his usual bratty attitude up, his snarky little smirk directed at Kaminari. "Come on, Dunce-face. You saying you're scared of a freakin purple butterfly?"

"Knock it off, Bakugou." Kirishima chastised. "The dude just went through some major villain crap. And what would you know? You weren't even here. You ran off the minute the overspeaker went off."

"So I could go beat the akuma right out of that nerd!" Katsuki retorted. "Why else?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter. It's over now. The important thing is that I didn't hurt anybody." Kaminari chuckled sheepishly. Then he held up his phone. "And you were right Kirishima; it comes in pretty handy to charge this thing at night."

His friends giggled and agreed, and Izuku felt a warm smile creep back onto his face. He reached into his pocket and patted Ichi on the head.

Another job well done.

* * *

 **Oof, writing this took slightly longer than I anticipated! Turned out a little longer than I expected too, but I'm proud of it. Please let me know what you think! I'd love some feedback!**

 **-DFTM**


	4. Episode 2: INVISIBLE GIRL

"Are you sure it's not too much?" Uraraka asked for the umpteenth time, biting her glossy lower lip. "It doesn't scream 'stalker'? Or 'creepy'? It's not weird at all?"

Asui scoffed from Izuku's right, taking the green haired boy's shoulder and giving it a shake. "Trust me, Ochaco-chan. If anyone's a creepy stalker here, it's Midoriya."

"Hey!" Izuku playfully tugged away, heat rushing into his cheeks as he flashed her an embarrassed smile. She was probably- definitely- referring to his interest in Japan's most revered wrestler. One could say when Izuku got invested in something he got really... _really_ invested. "I just...! I admire Endeavor's work, is all!" Izuku quickly changed the subject, turning back to where his friend was nervously twirling in front of the mirror. "I think it's a really _sweet_ sentiment. Rabbit would be touched."

Every year, Yuuei Private Academy held a small festival (more of a glorified party) for all the students attending. This was Izuku's class's first year to participate, making them all extremely giddy for what was in store for them, come nighttime. The most exciting of the activities, for the girls, at least, was the runway contest. Students were invited the show off handmade clothes, and there were several prizes you could win for it; most creative, most festive, the classiest, the funniest-looking. Uraraka had made a dress with Yaoyarozu's help; knee-length, green, shoulderless and trimmed with white. She paired it with big red shoes and elbow-length gloves, and lastly, two bunny ears and a mask. She was going for the cosplay approach, and Rabbit was her inspiration.

Izuku wasn't technically lying. He really _was_ touched.

"I still think a choker would complete the look." Asui threw in, tapping her lip with her finger. "Rabbit's signature choker. You know, like the neat costume ones you find at souvenir shops."

"Yeah, but they look so cheap." This was Yaoyorozu. She was the one with the artist's eye, who had pitched in significantly in making the dress look almost professional. She tightened her lips, looking Uraraka over again. She suddenly jerked toward Izuku, and he jumped. "Midoriya, what about yours?"

Izuku blanched. "My-My what now?"

"Could you perhaps lend Ochaco-chan your choker? It looks almost like the real thing." Asui commented. She reached up for the latch behind his neck. Izuku quickly ducked away.

"Oh- _um..._ " He stammered. Within his pocket, he felt Ichi seize up like a deer in the headlights. No no no no no that wouldn't _do_. Without his choker, he couldn't transform; he needed to wear this at all times. Not to mention Ichi couldn't be far away from his jewel. If he gave his choker to Uraraka he'd essentially be giving up his powers and even temporarily that sounded like a horrible idea and even worse Uraraka would find out about Ichi and _that_ was a confrontation he could definitely go without- "I... can't. Get. It... off?"

Asui stared at him.

"Because! You know. The, uh, the _latch_ , is..." Izuku felt cold sweat forming on the back of his neck as he searched for words. "...broken?"

Asui quirked an eyebrow. The girl had these really big, froggy eyes that stared into your soul and sucked out all your confidence. It was rather hard to meet her eyes or hold her gaze; especially when you were as anxious as Izuku. Finally, she smirked. "You know you're really bad at lying."

"...Thanks."

"You're welcome. Just say no next time. It's not a big deal."

"But while we're on the topic of it, Midoriya, where _did_ you get it anyway?" Yaoyorozu jumped in, examining his neckpiece. "It really does look legit."

"...Hot Topic." Izuku offered. He began to gather his things into his backpack, suddenly desperate to make an exit. "Hey, it's getting pretty close to four. I still need to call my mom about staying here at school till later. She's... not easy to persuade. But I'll find you guys later! I won't miss the runway!"

"You'd better not!" Uraraka yelled after him as he quickly escaped the girl's locker room. On his way out, he accidentally hit shoulders with someone else, roughly knocking them against the wall and he cringed to a stop, whirling back to apologize.

It was Hagakure. Maybe it wasn't much of a surprise he'd hit into _her_ of all people because she was so easy to miss; she was small and petite, with short dark hair and a somewhat plain face. Izuku heard that lately she'd been wearing flashy clothes and tons of make-up in the hopes she'd be more noticeable, but it was as though she had a _curse_ on her that simply made her... invisible.

"I'm sorry, Hagakure-san! I..." Izuku wilted a little. "...didn't see you there."

Needless to say, Hagakure didn't look the least bit surprised. She was all decked out in bright pinks and bows and big eyelashes, but her curse had still held strong. "It's all good, Midoriya-san." She gave him a tight smile. She then peered over his shoulder. "Uraraka invite you into the locker room to see her outfit?"

"Oh. Yeah. It's really neat." Izuku then eyed the Hello Kitty bag she carried, stuffed tight with something. "Oh, are you planning on doing the runway as well?"

This made Hagakure beam. "Yes! Thank you for noticing!" She turned to unzip the bag, giving Izuku a peek of fluffy lace and bright, festive colors. She looked back at him a bit sheepishly. "I hope... I'm hoping it'll, like, break my curse, you know?"

Izuku nodded encouragingly. "Of course. I'll be watching for you."

"Thanks, Midoriya."

As soon as Izuku left into the empty hallway, Ichi poked his head from his pocket, his eyes wide and full of anxiety.

"That was a close one!" He squeaked. Seemed he was still pretty shaken up about Asui's grab for Izuku's choker. He turned to Izuku quickly. "You can _not_ allow anybody else to take your miraculous or I'll lose you!"

"I figured." Izuku reassured him. "Don't worry. I'm keeping careful about that."

* * *

The festival was close to starting, and Boomi's patience was wearing _way_ too thin.

"Katsuki? Katsuki? _Katsukiiiii_!" The voice floated all around the blonde boy's head as he ran his hands under hot water. Katsuki stretched his lips tight and hit the soap dispenser perhaps a little harder than he needed to.

The tiny brown wolf landed on Katsuki's shoulder, little claws sinking through his shirt and into his skin. The prick was mildly inconveniencing... until it burned.

"Ow!" Katsuki roughly swept his kwami off. If there was anything he wouldn't tolerate today, it was Boomi's 'friendly' little _firecracker claws_.

"Come _ooooon_!" Boomi whined. "I'm starviiiing! You _promised_ I could have some of those really good squishy rice balls and if we don't hurry your greedy little classmates are going to take them-!"

"For crying out loud, Boomi!" Katsuki thrust his hands beneath the air dryers. He had to raise his voice (more so than usual) to be heard over the roar. "No one's going to eat all the mochi before you can! It's bad enough people are starting to blame _me_ for that!"

"Better you than me." Boomi tittered.

Katsuki groaned. Honestly, the only thing more annoying than dealing with a kwami was dealing with the _repercussions_ of having a kwami. It was debatably more of a hassle to explain all the sugary foods going missing and his own extended disappearances than it was _actually being_ the Lone Wolf. _Especially_ to his parents. After all- what villain in any form could be scarier than his own mother?

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom was kicked open. Katsuki felt his heart stutter with surprise and Boomi bolted to hide in his jacket collar; a fuzzy little ball against his neck.

"'Eeeey, Baku-bro!"

Katsuki grimaced. He turned to face Kirishima with that exact expression, letting the redhead know exactly how he felt about that nickname. "Screw off, Weird-Hair, I told you not to call me that."

"And I told you not to call me 'Weird-Hair'," Kirishima shrugged unapologetically with a lazy smile. "And yet. Here we are."

"What do you want?"

"Well, I don't know if bathrooms have a different use in your hometown _Sassy City_ , but I'm here to pee." He strolled his merry way across the bathroom before suddenly whirling back on Katsuki, face lit up. "Oh! Are you going to the runway tonight?"

 _That stupid thing?_ "I wasn't really planning on admiring crappy DIYs tonight when I _could_ be doing, I don't know," Katsuki held up fingers to count. "obstacle courses, hall of mirrors, that lame 'haunted hallway' thing, pie throwing; you know, things that are _actually fun_?"

Kirishima clucked and shook his head. "Oh. Okay. That's a downright shame..." He raised his eyebrows. "Because I hear someone's going to be cosplaying _Rabbit_ tonight."

Katsuki twitched.

"Yeeaahh, I hear it's gonna be in the form of a _cute dress_ , too. The girl's got a _maaask_ and the _eeaars_..." Kirishima dragged the words out purposefully, eyeing his friend in order to get a reaction. It worked, and it was just priceless-

" _Can it already_!" Rats, were Katsuki's cheeks as red as they felt?! He clenched his fists and _exploded_ \- no pun intended- on his red-haired friend. "Stop _teasing me_ you loser! And you'd better be keeping that on the down-low or I'll kill you!"

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Baku-bro!" Kirishima cackled, throwing himself into a stall. "At this point, everyone's got a crush on Rabbit~"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Nevertheless, Katsuki added one more 'to-do' on his agenda.

* * *

The runway started at five thirty, the gym converted into a showroom for just tonight. There were around thirty girls and twenty boys participating, which was a whole lot of creative talent that would make narrowing things down rather difficult. Nevertheless, the students seemed to be having fun watching the runway and judging different outfits themselves.

Izuku, for one, stood with Asui, Yaoyorozu and Iida in the crowd, holding up little signs to cheer on Uraraka when she came out. Yaomomo had even cornered them all to write the girl's name across their faces, the characters big and blocky on their cheeks.

It was exciting to wait for Uraraka. Yaomomo had requested Izuku to show her his choker when he came back from calling his mom, so that she could make a last minute jewelry piece from scratch. That was far more preferable than actually giving Uraraka his miraculous, so he complied with a smile. This new addition meant that Uraraka would have a greater chance at winning something for her cosplay. Izuku really hoped she did. She'd worked so hard on it.

Thirty minutes in, the judges announced Hagakure Toru, and Izuku perked up with curiosity. He remembered what she had said earlier about breaking her curse with this runway, and the colorful dress she let him see. He crossed his fingers, and held his breath.

The spotlight turned to the curtains, and everyone drew quiet, waiting. Everyone wanted to see what the 'invisible girl' was going to present.

They waited.

And waited.

"Where is she?" The voice belonged to Jirou, who was standing behind them. Izuku turned his head to look at her, seeing she had come with her squad; Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, Ashido, and his very _favorite_ ; Bakugou Katsuki. Kacchan caught him looking and gave him a snarl, and Izuku copied him, just to make him mad, before turning back around. He never expected Katsuki of all people to come to a runway. His friends must've dragged him here.

"Did she get stagefright?" Asui whispered worriedly, biting her lip.

Yaomomo shook her head. "Not Toru-chan. She was so excited for this."

They waited a little longer.

"...Alright." The judges began again, sounding slightly awkward. "Um- the next contestant is Hatsume Mei!"

There was a slight stumbling sound backstage, and a girl with big pink locks and very... _interestingly_ _constructed_ steampunk dress burst from the curtains, laughing aloud. She waved her arms and twirled until people started to laugh with her, and soon, cheering for her, the Hagakure incident already forgotten. Izuku turned to look at his friends, and they looked back at him, concerned.

It seemed the invisible girl's curse wouldn't be broken tonight.

* * *

Hagakure Toru was devastated. She had been so worried about her appearance that she spent far too much time in the bathroom, applying makeup and practicing her smile. She'd wanted to put on her best performance as her official debut- Toru, the invisible girl no longer.

But she waited too long. When she saw the time on her phone, her heart dropped into her feet and she ran, as fast as she could, back toward the gym. Her heels kept wobbling and her dress kept catching in doors, and by the time she'd finally arrived, her 'debut' had long since passed. Hatsume Mei, from class 1-H, was already on stage, melting hearts and flaunting such a pretty steampunk dress. She must've overstayed her welcome, though, because stagehands were trying to drag her back behind the curtains.

She was too late.

 _I bet they didn't even know I was gone._

Toru left the gym, shoulders hung, and looked down sorrowfully at the mask she'd wanted to wear. It was a pretty pink masquerade mask, with feathers and jewels along the side. Now she would never get to show it off. Nobody would ever see her.

And then the purple butterfly appeared.

* * *

There were approximately five more people until Uraraka came on stage, and then she and her friends could go do some other activities. It was fun to watch the other contestants, but after Hagakure Izuku felt enough secondhand sadness to just want the attraction to be over.

A girl from class 1-B was announced, Komori Kinoko, who quickly stumbled onstage with an outright terrified look on her face. If anyone had stagefright in this competition, Komori seemed to be the one most affected by it.

Komori was all dressed up in a cute red and white mushroom dress, poofy and bright and bouncy as she ran. Under her brown bangs Izuku could catch bright red lipstick and lots of blush. She'd really prepared for this, it seemed, but she looked so skittish to be up in front of everyone that Izuku could imagine she was really regretting it. Nevertheless, her classmates in the crowd all screamed their appreciation, waving their fists in the air and yelling her name. Nearby Izuku could hear Katsuki sigh loudly.

Komori came close to the edge of the stage, practically hiding behind her hands... and then it happened.

There was an audible screech as Komori's heels were visibly kicked out from under her, and Komori squealed as she fell right off the stage. The crowd jolted to catch her, gasping, and at the back, teachers leaned forward in their seats, shocked. Komori was caught by several big students in the crowd who gently lowered her to the ground as the poor shaken girl started to bawl in humiliation. Class B surged forward to provide comfort.

People in the front row pushed onto their tiptoes to see the stage but there was nothing obvious, no fallen props, no bump or scuff in the stage that might have tripped Komori. And everyone had been watching her; she hadn't even tripped. It had really looked like she'd been _shoved_.

Izuku felt Ichi tense in his pocket, and he looked down in surprise. The little green bunny peeked out of his pocket, ears flat against his head and eyes wide, and he had to strain to hear his kwami's voice above the mayhem.

"I can feel it." Ichi murmured anxiously. "There's something nearby, Izu-chan."

And lo and behold, when Izuku looked back up at the stage, a stagelight was _floating_. Big, heavy looking, it drifted up into the air as though heaved by some unseen force, causing the audience to gasp and back up several feet. It reared back, and as students cried out in confusion and turned to run, the stagelight flew out into the crowd.

Somewhere in front of him, he hear Komori shriek.

Izuku didn't think. He bolted forward, shoving upstream; there, fallen to the ground and shielding her head from the falling light, Komori cried, and Izuku lunged. He barreled into her, snatching the smaller girl around the middle, and threw the both of them several feet before the light fell heavily where Komori had been cowering a moment before.

Panting, Izuku turned to the girl. "Are you okay?!"

She nodded, eyes wide and wet. "Th-Thank you."

But it wasn't over yet. Onstage, props were being dragged out from behind the curtain, floating up and chucking themselves across the gym, flying straight for unsuspecting students but thankfully missing them when they dodged.

Izuku had no time to think. There was a villain here, and the school needed Rabbit.

* * *

"One day, just one day..." Katsuki hissed angrily as he bolted for the nearby bathroom. "Just _one day_ where I get to do something _fun_ and not have a freakin _villain_ screw it all up!"

" _Complaining_ isn't going to make them go away you know." Boomi hummed unsympathetically as Katsuki fell back against the door, closing the both of them in dark solitude. Katsuki quickly locked the door to avoid another Kirishima barging in on him and turned to his kwami.

"Transform me."

* * *

Izuku had a pretty good idea at who the villain was. Invisibility, complete destruction of the runway- it was very clear, no pun intended, that this poor akumatized victim was none other than Hagakure Toru.

 _The Akuma must've taken advantage of her devastation,_ Izuku thought quickly, rushing through the school hallways to find any sign of the villain. It would make complete sense if this was Hagakure's way of getting revenge on everyone for overlooking her.

 _Invisibility._ A cruel twist of fate had made Hagakure's curse heartbreakingly literal.

In the back of his mind, Izuku reminded himself to contact Lone. Since nobody at school had contacted the police yet, his partner probably had no idea about the villain. But what if Lone was too far away? Since Izuku had no idea who he was under the mask he could be anywhere in Japan right now, leaving the work entirely to Rabbit... That didn't sound too bad, but it wasn't preferable. They were a team.

Izuku immediately checked back into the gym. It was empty now, with all the students having fled back to the cafeteria until the teachers or police evacuated them. At least, it _looked_ empty. It posed a problem that Izuku couldn't tell if Hagakure was still here, especially with how dark it was and all the lights gone.

Then again, maybe the slammed door behind him was evidence enough.

Izuku snatched his harp and whirled around, his head snapping to and fro to find any source of movement. There was nothing- he couldn't see _anything_!

 _Come on, Deku! Focus!_

Swish!

Izuku whirled around and - THWACK! - took a harsh, horrible blow to the shoulder, throwing him several feet to the left and stumbling.

Pain blossomed and throbbed where his shoulder had been hit and he instinctively grasped at it, gasping. His suit had been torn a little, and with some squinting and some moonlight from the windows, he was able to just make out a floating beam of wood... with some nails sprouting from it.

Izuku's eyes widened and he looked back at his shoulder, taking his gloved hand away to see blood.

Wow. Hagakure wasn't messing around.

The beam reared back again, and several soft taps on the ground indicated running- the beam got closer in mere seconds and Izuku barely had time to register that before he bolted to the right and missed another swing by an inch. The beam flew back and then _followed him_.

 _Crap crap crap_ \- Izuku grit his teeth through the pain in his shoulder, gripping his harp and jumping back in close, he ducked the first swing of the beam and swung the harp, hoping to hit her blunt force but he _missed_. The beam swished back down for his head and he rolled away again, his shoulder screaming and leaving a dark mark on the ground but he jumped up regardless and leaped back in, swinging again and then _missing_ and having to dodge one more time. He couldn't get close again- she just kept _swinging_ and _swinging_ and Izuku decided once and for all how bad this situation was when the nails managed to graze him again, this time on his leg with a flash of white pain...

 _Nononono, I can't get close to her like this, I can't fight like this-!_

"Hagakure-san!" Izuku yelled in a panicked attempt to get her to stop. " Hagakure-san, don't!"

He turned and jumped away just as the beam was flung like a spinning frizbee across the gym, missing the flying projectile. It was a good thing he did, because by the way it _thunked_ straight into the gym wall, nails slicing through the plaster like cardboard, it probably wouldn't have ended well for Izuku.

This was bad. Now he had no idea where the girl was; he couldn't see her at all and Izuku was afraid to let her get too close without him knowing, especially since she already hit him twice. Worst of all, her akumatization seemed to have made her a much stronger, faster fighter, meaning getting close to apprehend her at all would be extremely tricky. Dang it, it _sucked_ to be a close-range fighter at times like this.

 _If I can't fight close range, I'm going to have to use a Smash._

He didn't want to have to use a Smash. Not in the school, not while there were other kids around. That was a last resort.

 _Thinkthinkthinkthink_ -

He hesitated too long and suddenly something grabbed him around the neck, yanking his head back into a chokehold and momentarily stealing away his breath. She had an incredibly strong grip, and pain flared through his neck as she squeezed. Izuku reacted immediately, grabbing the invisible arms that snatched for his choker and flipping her straight over him, throwing her to the ground. He then pounced onto the spot he threw her in an attempt to catch her- but she wasn't there.

 _Dang it, Hagakure!_

He tried to jump to his feet but he stumbled on his bad leg, grunting in pain. She'd really managed to get him good there; but he couldn't let that slow him down. He grit his jaw so hard it creaked and gripped his harp so tight it burned. He looked around wildly for any source of movement, anything-

Something grabbed his shoulder.

He whirled on the offender with a wild swing and nearly gave the Lone Wolf a concussion.

"Whoa- cool it, Cottontail!" Lone hissed, quickly grabbing Izuku's flying wrist and stopping it short. His grip was strong and warm, and Izuku had never felt so relieved to see those stupid red-gold eyes.

"She's invisible!" Izuku panted, throwing his head around in an agitated attempt to find her, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to. "I can't see! I can't find her!"

Lone's hand fell from Izuku's wrist, suddenly distracted. His touch trailed up his arm, and he narrowed his eyes at his partner's bloody shoulder. "What happened?"

"She's invisible!" Izuku repeated, far too frustrated, far too paranoid now. She could be anywhere with another nailed beam and Lone was concerned about Izuku's stupid shoulder? "I can't see her, Lone; you have to help me. You have night vision, heat vision- you have to be my eyes."

Lone shook his head, and then chuckled, his eyes hardening. "Don't worry. I'll get her for that, Cottontail."

The gym doors opened and slammed shut.

* * *

Katsuki was absolutely furious.

If he had to be honest right now; _yes_ , he knew Rabbit was perfectly capable as a hero, and that getting hurt was part of their job as heroes. He knew Rabbit was strong, and that his pain threshold was good and high, especially on adrenaline, like he seemed to be right now.

That didn't mean Katsuki was okay with villains hurting his partner like that, though. Especially when they drew blood. That was a big no-no.

He wasn't going to let this villain get away with stabbing his Rabbit.

As he and Rabbit rushed through the halls of the school, he activated his heat vision, scanning every inch of the messy, festival decorated corridors and looking hard for any signs of an invisible heat source. So far he had nothing.

Meanwhile, Rabbit's breathing was really throwing him off. Every time he heard a hitch of pain in his partner's voice he got even angrier, fantasies of blasting that invisible brat all the way across Tokyo growing more and more vibrant.

In the back of his mind he wished he could just tell Rabbit to wait back at the gym and tend to his injuries, but he knew full well that Rabbit wouldn't listen. Besides, he respected Rabbit too much to throw him out like that. Rabbit was a valuable partner, strong and smart, and a few small jabs wouldn't keep him away from the action if it killed him. It was one of the many reasons Katsuki admired him.

So they ran, attached at the hip, and looked for the Invisible Girl together.

"Heat signals up ahead," Katsuki breathed, and Rabbit nodded, gripping his harp. The halls were dark- apparently Invisibrat found it funny to take out all the lights she came across- but at least they had better lighting to them than the gym; with all the giant windows allowing more moonlight to spill in, Rabbit was able to see much better here than he had in the gym. It reassured Katsuki to know his partner had the visual to protect himself now.

Katsuki clutched his baton, elongating it to about four feet. The minute he caught sight of that villain he was going to _raise hell._

He and Rabbit closed in on the girl's locker room, shared a glance and a nod, and kicked the door in.

* * *

Ochaco was the first to lash out. The minute the door burst open she grabbed her harp prop, suddenly grateful to how heavy Yaomomo made it as she swung it full force at the intruders. There was a loud, reverberating _clang!_ as her harp made contact with something else, something made of metal.

The white static of flight or flight faded, however, once she managed to get a good look at who she'd attacked.

"Lone Wolf!" She gasped, and behind her, her friends twitched in surprise and lowered their respective weapons. It _might_ have been little embarrassing had Tsu, Yaomomo or Iida whacked Japan's superheroes over the heads with "GO URARAKA" signs, knee-length boots and heavy bags of prop glitter.

The Wolf blinked, looking around at the four of them in confusion. He still held his baton in front of him still like a shield as he peered throughout the locker room, the flickering lights not seeming to phase him much. As he searched, another boy stepped up from behind him, someone Ochaco recognized much better; "Rabbit!"

The green superhero smiled at her and her friends, standing up straight like he always did to give other people courage.

"Everything is okay." He promised, in that ever-so-optimistic tone of his. "I'm here now."

Ochaco could swear she could practically see the stars in her friends' eyes as they nodded, a little dazed to be in the presence of Rabbit and the Lone Wolf themselves. They could only watch with open jaws as Rabbit then turned to his partner, speaking lowly and seriously. Ochaco couldn't help but notice that he talked a lot with his hands, absentmindedly waving and gesturing as he spoke.

"She can't be far." Rabbit was murmuring to the Wolf as the latter continued to look around, eyes trained on something Ochaco couldn't see. "Look out for 'small', 'petite'. I have no doubt this is a girl by the name of Hagakure Toru."

"The 'Invisible Girl'?" Wolf muttered distractedly. "That makes a lot of sense."

"Wow, you know her?"

"Um." The Wolf jerked and looked down at his partner, suddenly looking as though he'd been caught for something. "I mean, I _heard_ about her. From kids I, uh, collected information from, before I found you."

Rabbit nodded, accepting this rather quickly. "Right. She missed the runway. The akuma must've fed off those negative emotions."

This is where Ochaco found herself interrupting. "Wait, so you're saying this ghost villain is _Toru-chan_?"

Beside her, Tsu raised a hand over her mouth. "Oh no... Poor Toru..."

Rabbit held up his hands in reassurance. "Don't worry! Lone and I will take care of the akuma and you'll have your friend back in no time." As he lowered his arms, Ochaco caught a flinch. And that's when she noticed, for the first time, that he was bleeding.

He was _bleeding_.

"Did Toru do that?" She gasped, pointing, and her friends immediately jumped on that as well- "We're so sorry-" "She's so sweet, she would _never_ -" "I had no idea-"

"It's not her fault." Rabbit insisted, shrugging sympathetically. "It's what the akuma is manipulating her to do. She was trying to get to my choker- just like all the other villains."

His choker...?

"Rabbit," The Wolf perked up, looking down the hallway. Rabbit turned to face him, and the Wolf met his eyes. "A couple halls down. Someone is running straight for the cafeteria. Small, petite, just like you described."

"It has to be her." Rabbit agreed. "The rest of the school will have been evacuated into the cafeteria- we can't let her get lost in the crowd."

As the two heroes rushed out of the locker room, Rabbit hesitated, turning back to look directly at Ochaco herself.

"I love your costume, by the way." He told her with a smile. He glanced down at his suit and back at her dress a few times. "Almost looks like the real thing."

Ochaco was absolutely floored, blushing deeply and silently screaming as she thanked him. He was gone soon after that, but she and Momo continued to fan their faces and grin excitedly that the very source of their inspiration had just complemented their work.

But it also got Ochaco thinking. She felt her gaze fall to the bag of glitter in Iida's hands. _His choker..._

She had an idea.

* * *

Chaos had already ensued by the time Izuku and Lone arrived at the cafeteria. Students shrieked as trays and bowls and silverware were thrown haphazardly across the room, dishes kicked up from tabletops scattering food everywhere. The lights flickered slightly, but for the better part the teachers were doing a good job of keeping the girl away from the switches.

Hagakure was _really_ going crazy.

"Can you see her?!" Izuku called to Lone, gripping his harp as his partner whipped his head back and forth, his pointy ears flat against his head.

"There are too many people in one place- it's screwing up my heat detectors!" Lone growled in frustration.

This was insane. Izuku couldn't remember the last time apprehending a villain was this difficult; it was usually the villain's strength or size, or even their wit. But Hagakure was taking full advantage of her invisibility, able to rush to and fro right underneath his and Lone's noses undetected and it was _infuriating_.

It didn't take long for Hagakure to find out they were there. A mere minute had passed before she made her first move, grabbing Lone's baton in a bold attempt to rip it away, and with surprise on her side, it nearly worked. Thankfully, Lone's grip was true, and he yanked it back with enough strength to throw her over his shoulder against the wall. Izuku knew he'd managed to do that because their was an audible _thump_ there that followed. Izuku immediately took this opportunity to grab at the empty air, but she was already gone.

A floating fork was barely detected before Lone dodged, the swipe managing to nick his cheek but not stab him, making him luckier than Izuku at least. Both boys lunged for the area around the fork, but it dropped onto the ground, discarded, leaving Hagakure completely off the radar once more.

Then-!

"Ack!" Lone grunted as his fist was suddenly yanked back; the one with his gold bracelet. He reared his other fist and threw a punch, but the air whistled empty and his hand dropped free. He pulled his miraculous close, looking more and more unsure.

Izuku pulled up the collar of his suit and hid his choker beneath the trim, brandishing his harp and trying _so_ _hard_ to find any disturbance in the air around him, any unnatural sounds. But the cafeteria was in chaos and the sights and sounds of panicking students hid everything and anything else.

"We have to set a trap." Lone hissed angrily, leaning in close to Izuku. "I can't use my explosions in here due to all these stupid kids!"

"Neither me with my Smashes," Izuku agreed.

"So what do we do?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking-!"

And then suddenly, " _Toru-chan_!"

Izuku and Lone both jolted in surprise, looking up over the mess of panicked students to find a petite cosplayer in green standing tall on top of a table, something silver and shiny in a lifted fist.

"I have Rabbit's miraculous, Toru-chan!" Uraraka shouted excitedly, jumping up and down. "I grabbed it while he wasn't looking! Come on, Toru-chan, come get it!"

There was a beat to process. Izuku felt a slight rush of confusion, reaching up to touch his raised collar. Lone's face went pale and he turned to look at Izuku anxiously. Several students stopped and looked up at Uraraka in dread.

And it was over in an instant. Suddenly, students were shoved to the side, making an open pathway straight across the cafeteria toward Uraraka, so fast that no one had barely any time to react.

Lone made to bolt after her, but Izuku grabbed him by the scruff just in time, "Wait!"

Like something out of a ghost movie, Uraraka was suddenly thrown backward off the table, the choker in her fist pulled taught in her hand as they both shrieked and tumbled onto the ground. Uraraka wasted no time and instantly grabbed Hagakure around the waist, locked onto the struggling girl while Iida, Yaoyorozu and Asui suddenly jumped out from the crowd, tearing open bags of what looked like... glitter?

 _Whoosh!_ Sparkles of every color rained down atop the girls, sticking like glue and covering them like a blanket.

Hair, face, and green dress painted blues and yellows and pinks, Uraraka snatched the other end of the choker pulled by a glittery silhouette that wasn't there before, and pulled back with a growl. With a loud _crick!_ the choker snapped in two.

Hagakure gasped and stumbled back, her broken piece of the choker gripped in her shaking hands. Now covered in glitter, she was completely visible, and both Izuku and Lone could get a good look at what she was wearing; what appeared to be a tight bodysuit, some gloves, bare feet, and a fancy feather mask on her face.

Izuku met Lone's eyes, instantly coming to the same conclusion. _The mask._

They locked onto their target and charged.

Hagakure turned the minute she heard them coming, and immediately jumped to the side. Lone wasted no time grabbing his baton and swinging it right at her, and she ducked as it soared over her head, rolling off to the side again. It was amazingly simple, her strategy. Jump, duck, evade. That's all it was.

But now that they could see her, it was ineffective. Now it was game over.

Izuku fired up Ichi's power within him, feeling lightning bolts of green spark across his body. He leaped straight at Hagakure's sparkly silhouette with super speed, crashing into her and pinning her against the ground with his super strength. She thrashed beneath him, surprisingly slippery in his grasp, but he held on.

Lone came forward and sighed loudly, leaning close to her face with a smirk and then ripping the mask off her face. Hagakure yelled savagely in protest.

"This is what you get for hurting my Cottontail." Lone hissed, and outright _destroyed_ her mask with an unnecessarily strong explosion from his gloves that sent heat waves rolling throughout the entire cafeteria. Izuku wasn't sure whether he should feel concerned or touched at Lone's sentiment.

The glitter stuck remnants of the mask fell to the ground and a large purple butterfly suddenly sprang free, fluttering desperately toward the open window, but Izuku wasn't about to let it get away; he reared back his harp like a boomerang and let it fly.

The butterfly was snatched within the strings, tangled tight as the harp returned, and Izuku was careful not to touch it as he strummed three chords around it.

With a swish of white magic, everything returned to the way it was. Discarded dishes returned to the tabletops, food disappeared from the walls and floors, the bags of glitter sealed themselves shut, not a single sparkle left on the floor or either of the girls. The broken costume choker clutched in Uraraka's hands mended as though it were never damaged.

Purple mist melted from Hagakure, and Izuku quickly jumped off of her as she returned to normal, fully visible and looking quite dazed and confused. Turned out, it, ah, wasn't a bodysuit, and Iida lurched forward with his big school blazer to cover her up.

The lights of the room stopped flickering, and the ones in the hallway returned unbroken. Teachers hurried to restore order to the rush of students, who slowly began to calm. The school returned to the way it was, as though nothing had even happened.

"Ow..." Hagakure slurred, rubbing her head. Iida's blazer fit her petite form like a dress. "Wha... What happened?"

"Toru-chan," Uraraka sighed, jumping in with Asui and Yaoyorozu to envelop her in a hug. The girl squeaked in surprise, but ultimately accepted it with a smile.

Lone turned to Izuku, looking arrogantly pleased with himself as he held out a fist. "Go beyond, baby."

Izuku laughed softly, raising up his own fist, but then paused. He reached out and touched Uraraka on the shoulder. She jumped a little to have been touched by Rabbit, and her jaw nearly fell to the floor when he held the fist to her.

"Thanks for saving my tail back there." He told her. "Go beyond?"

Uraraka looked back with stars in her eyes. She tapped his fist with hers.

"Plus ultra!"

* * *

It took about an hour to get everyone settled again to finish the rest of the runway. In this time, Katsuki managed to persuade Rabbit to follow him to the roof so that he could wrap up his injuries without any distractions. Honestly, Katsuki hadn't even expected Rabbit to comply, and was happy when he did.

It was beautiful tonight. The spring wind was warm, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, opening the heavens to kiss the city below. The moon was full and spilled a milky light upon the two heroes as they perched on the edge of the school rooftop, mere inches apart.

"Why don't you think my music fixes injuries?" Rabbit murmured absentmindedly as Katsuki cleaned up his shoulder. His partner was looking out over the city as he spoke, legs dangling from the edge of the roof dangerously. "It could fix a fallen building if I bid it to. But it can't heal a wound."

Katsuki frowned. "I don't know." He said, his voice low. With a sliver of humor, he added, "Maybe the little microscopic bunnies in your magic harp don't understand the inner workings of the human body."

Rabbit chuckled quietly. "Makes sense."

Rabbit's sleeves were pulled up over his arm and leg so that Katsuki could wrap it easier. The jab on his shoulder thankfully wasn't too deep, and the cut on his leg was a graze at most. It was a miracle considering Hagakure had been swinging at him with a nailed board. But with the help of the first aid from the nurse's office and Rabbit's incredible pain tolerance, it only took ten minutes to patch them up.

Katsuki pinned off the bandage, but he didn't let go of Rabbit's arm. Geez, his partner had a lot of muscle, especially for a guy so lean. It was hard to see when it was wrapped up in his suit, but right now... it was captivating to count all the freckles on his pale skin.

Rabbit pulled away. There was a smile on his face. "Are we done here?"

Katsuki raised his eyebrows. "You didn't get me yet."

"What- that tiny scratch?" He indicated to the nick on Katsuki's cheek.

"Pain is relative, Cottontail." Katsuki shrugged, plastering a smirk on his face. "Looks like you're gonna have to kiss it better."

Rabbit looked up at him. There was a very peculiar expression on his face beneath that mask of his that Katsuki wished beyond the moon he could see underneath. His green eyes glowed in costume, captivating, even beautiful. While Katsuki watched him, Rabbit leaned forward.

Closer... closer...

...And stuck a band-aid on Katsuki's cheek.

"All better." He winked.

Katsuki let out the breath he'd been holding. "That wasn't fair."

"It can't be helped." Rabbit stood up and gave his arm a few experimental stretches. He winced a little, but otherwise seemed fine. "I'd better be on my merry way."

"Oh come _on_ ," Katsuki complained, following him with his eyes. "You didn't use your Smash, so it's not like you'll be changing back anytime soon. And don't tell me there's somewhere you need to _be_ at eight o' clock at night!"

Rabbit shrugged, sauntering close to the edge of the roof.

"You'll never know, will you?" He teased, and stepped right off.

* * *

Izuku made it just in time for the runway to start up again, and accepted a "GO URARAKA" sign from Yaoyorozu with a smile. Iida demanded where he went during the attack, and Izuku fed him a lie about escaping to the cafeteria with Kacchan's friends. Asui gave him a funny look at that, making a remark about how 'she thought he hated Kacchan' and all that. There wasn't much he could say to that, and thankfully, he didn't need to, because that was when Uraraka herself took the stage.

She looked more confident than ever- no doubt due to that comment Izuku made as Rabbit earlier. He was glad that he did, too, because nothing made him happier than to see his friend's eyes shine like that, to see her stand so tall.

The crowd loved her cosplay, yelling out their appreciation. Izuku, Yaoyorozu, Iida and Asui all whooped and cheered as loud as they could, waving their signs and jumping up and down. Behind him, he heard Jirou and her squad laughing and clapping for her, and among them, one grumpy voice that commented 'it's not as cool as the real thing'.

But then Uraraka calmed them down with two raised hands.

"Hey everybody," She called. "I know it's my turn on the stage right now. But I think it's only fair that I bring someone else out with me- someone who didn't get her chance earlier." She turned to the curtains. "Toru-chan?"

The curtains opened. A fluffy pink dress, tall heels, and long white gloves were illuminated, along with plenty of make-up and a gorgeous braided hairstyle. She'd outdone herself of course, but who could blame her? For the very first time, Hagakure Toru stepped out into the spotlight, and Izuku could swear he heard her curse break.

* * *

 **Oof, this was rather long too, but wow, this one was fun! I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think!**

 **-DFTM**


	5. Episode 3: ANIMA

**3/14/19 Update: I got a review asking if this story is also on Wattpad, and the answer is yes! My Wattpad account is JustSomeGremlin, and I plan to post whatever fic I write here there as well! Thanks for the concern! :D**

* * *

Ichi was always very calm and quiet, very understanding and cooperative even at the worst of times. With Izuku, he was rational and patient; a rock for whenever the boy got too overwhelmed with his hero life and civilian life alike, assisting with that difficult math homework and then turning right back around to baby step Izuku through saving the city of Tokyo. He was truly a blessing, and honestly, Izuku didn't feel like he expressed his appreciation for that as much as he should.

Hence why, today, he decided to give back to his kwami.

"What do you like to do for fun?"

The little green rabbit had been cleaning his ears on Izuku's shoulder when the latter spoke up, scrolling through news articles on his laptop, reclined on his bed. Today was a Tuesday, and a lazy one at that; his mother had _insisted_ he stay home a couple of days after the Invisible Girl incident, to recuperate after the 'traumatizing' experience left him with 'torn flesh' on his arm and leg. If Izuku was being honest, the injuries weren't even that bad. Lone's fix-up had left him barely able to feel any of it, even if it stung from time to time. So these past few days had been less recovery and more of a lazy vacation that he didn't need.

Ichi stopped grooming for a few seconds to look up at the ceiling, thinking. It was adorable, as he paused mid-clean, his little tongue still poking out. He shrugged.

"Well, I like spending time with you, Izu-chan." He finally replied, simply.

Izuku snorted softly. "But you're always with me."

"Which makes it all the better!" Ichi gave him a big grin, then returned to his grooming. Izuku's smirk fell flat.

"Come on." He pressed. "You've been through plenty of Rabbits over thousands of years, haven't you? Among all that time, you've _got_ to have developed hobbies outside your masters, right?"

Ichi sighed, turning to look at Izuku properly with those big green eyes.

"Hobbies, interests- none of that is important to me, Izu-chan." He explained. "A good kwami isn't concerned about any of that. The most important thing for me is that you become the best Rabbit you can be. And you're such a good person, Izu-chan. I can't think of any better person to devote my services to."

Sweat formed on the back of Izuku's neck. Great... That just made him feel worse.

A couple of small minutes passed, with Ichi returning to his grooming and Izuku staring blankly at the computer screen, eyes glazing over the news article about pro-wrestler Endeavor's latest win. Suddenly, everything Izuku enjoyed for himself felt incredibly bleak- because _no_. There had to be something, anything, he could do that would make his kwami genuinely happy.

"Is there anything, like, _specific_ , that you like to do with me then?"

Ichi's laugh came out a purr. "I like anything you like!"

Come on. This was _not_ helping. Izuku's _other_ friends wouldn't like getting dragged to the library for hours on end, or reading American comic books or watching him play video games or helping him do homework or watching hours of wrestling competitions on TV.

Speaking of friends. Ichi... _had_ no other friends, did he? That must be so lonely... especially since Izuku thought himself to be a pretty boring person when not in costume. Ichi deserved more than just him.

Maybe... if Izuku could stifle his urge to hiss at sunlight for one afternoon... he could put a few activities to the test. Ichi was a million year old magical animal but he was still an animal, right?

"What do you think about other animals?"

"Hm?"

"Like, kittens, puppies, other rabbits. The little baby ones. What are your opinions on them?"

"Oh!" Ichi shook himself out, his little fur fluffing back up. "They're so cute. You know, my last master's husky had an entire litter, they loved playing chase."

"Well, do you wanna," Izuku gestured vaguely with his hand. "go the shelter or something? Play with some other animals?"

Ichi paused, then gave him a little knowing smile. "There you go again, asking what _I_ want."

"Well, do you?"

A small sigh. But this time, it was an accepting one. For the first time, Izuku heard Ichi sound genuinely excited. Perfect. "Oh, alright. That _would_ be fun."

* * *

Koda Koji was a big kid for his age, six foot one at age fifteen. He had plenty of muscle to give him a more hulking figure, and on top of it all he often shaved his head completely bald to wave off taking care of hair. He knew his size made him look like a football player and his silence made him intimidating at times. But that never stopped him from being the kindest employee of the Pussycat Animal Rescue.

If Koji was being completely honest, he'd say that he far preferred the company of animals to the company of other human beings. It wasn't anyone's fault that common human behavior was sometimes too much for Koji to handle. He's always been an introvert, as interaction often intimidated him, not to mention he had a hard time speaking aloud and not many people understood sign language. But when Koji was at work, feeding the kittens, playing with the dogs, helping injured birds to fly with their freshly healed wings; he felt so at home. His co-workers called him their _animal whisperer_ ; he could tame anything carried through their doors. It was just so much easier to connect to these creatures than it was for his fellow human beings.

Today, he was comforting a Labrador through a vaccination when the front door jingled. Sosaki-san- one of his managers who called herself Mandalay while on the job- finished the shot, kissed the dog for being so brave and then waved Koji with a smile to the front desk. She could take care of the sick dog for now.

When Koji walked out to the front desk, he was surprised to see one of his classmates standing there, donned in a comfortable-looking hoodie themed with an American superhero and holding something tiny in his cradled arms. It was Midoriya Izuku, one of the quiet ones along with Koji and Shoji and Todoroki- at least until he was paired up with his loud friends. Then he got loud too. Koji still wasn't sure what to think of him because of it. He was often wary around extroverts- or was Midoriya an ambivert? Either way, depending on Midoriya's susceptibility to small talk, Koji's comfort zone was going to fluctuate.

Midoriya waved awkwardly. "Uh."

Ambivert it was.

Koji waved back shyly. Koji hardly knew Midoriya, despite being in the same class as him, so he wasn't sure how to go about talking to him. But before he went to more obvious gestures, Koji liked to start off with sign language, to test if any customers knew it. It was always so much easier to communicate when they did. He signed, 'What can I do for you?'

And to his heart-stopping surprise, Midoriya actually replied. 'Hello. Do you allow playdates here?'

The fact Midoriya actually knew sign language was a bit of a surprise in itself. The fact he was here with a... was that a bunny? That was also unexpected.

Nevertheless, Koji couldn't help his small coo of adoration for the little thing in Midoriya's arms. His classmate shifted so he could see it better; the bunny was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, easily one of the tiniest bunnies Koji had ever seen that wasn't blatantly a baby. Was it a pygmy? Possible, but even pygmies weren't this small.

Midoriya started to explain with a free hand. Koji studied the speech, and, recognizing that it was a little slow and hesitant, and that Midoriya had fingerspelled 'playdates', realized that Midoriya really didn't know a lot of sign. Koji would feel bad if that was inconvenient. He let Midoriya know he could speak aloud, and that Koji would respond in sign.

Midoriya smiled at him. This was good; communication was off to a good start. "I wanted him to interact with some other animals." His classmate explained; his voice soft as though he somehow knew Koji appreciated that. "He seemed lonely. I was hoping the shelter allowed playdates or something, with other bunnies or kittens or hamsters or something. Is that okay?"

Obviously Midoriya didn't know a whole lot about animal socializing. Bunnies and cats and especially hamsters could get pretty territorial toward animals they'd never seen before. Small kittens would probably be the best bet, as they were very social, but they also played relatively rough and with how tiny this bunny was Koji wasn't sure how well that would fare... As for if it as allowed, Koji wasn't actually sure. No one had ever walked in hoping to form a playdate before.

Then again, he wasn't asking to play with the dogs or cats, the big ones that had been rescued from stressful circumstances and were in tedious waters concerning interaction. He was asking about the little ones, the ones born here. Maybe the kittens would accept another playmate, just for the day. Besides, Koji felt excited, for once, about his company; it surprisingly occured to him that he would very much like to ask Midoriya about his bunny, like where he got it, and why it was so small.

'I'm sure I could make arrangements,' Koji told him, waving him behind the desk and toward the cat kennels. Midoriya had a hop in his step that made him look fittingly like a bunny himself, his eyes all lit up and his smile all happy and excited. It was adorable. How come Koji has never seen this side of Midoriya before?

Tsuchikawa-san (or Pixie-Bob, as she called herself on the job) was already in there, feeding a tabby while stroking its back. There were more cats at the shelter than any other animal, mostly because of how commonly they were found compared to the others. The shelter made sure to sterilize them- as well as any animal they could- upon coming in, but some were already pregnant, making that even _more_ animals to worry about. Heck, there were already fifteen kittens in the playplace. Indeed, it was hard to care for so many animals, sometimes. It was very draining, both on the body and the bank account. But it was worth it, because Koji didn't know what he'd do without the animals. They meant the world to him.

Tsuchikawa looked up when Koji came in, a curious look forming on her face when she saw Midoriya. It turned to surprise once she saw the little fluffy green ears poking up from within Midoriya's palms.

"What's this, Koda-kun?" She gasped, hopping over to get a better look. "A friend? Ah!" she squealed a little once she saw the bunny. "How cuuute!"

With a little nod of agreement, Koji caught her attention again and signed, 'This is one of my classmates.'

"Midoriya Izuku." Midoriya offered, bowing a little.

'Would it be alright is his bunny socialized with the kittens?'

Tsuchikawa hummed, tapping her lips with her finger. It didn't take long for her to make a decision. "Yeah, I think that'd be okay. Just for today. Your bunny's vaccinated, right?"

A beat. Then Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, he's great. Thanks!"

Koji's manager giggled. "Alright then, have fun! Make sure you keep a good eye on him!"

* * *

Izuku froze a bit at the vaccination part. But he remembered that Ichi told him kwamis weren't technically 'of this earth' and that it was impossible to catch or give sicknesses from humans or animals. So Ichi was pretty much squeaky clean on that note.

The kittens in the corner playpen were absolutely precious. They were so little and fluffy and chatty, sticking up their tails and opening their maws up wide to show off little teeny baby teeth. A few stumbled into their playmates and fell on their sides, scrabbling to stand up again and meow for more attention; it just made Izuku want to melt.

Ichi was still smaller than the lot of them. Nevertheless, he was practically vibrating with joy, rushing to meet and play with them the minute Izuku set him down. When he knelt beside the playpen, folding his hands in his lap and watching the tiny things tussle, Koda-kun settled beside him, looking equally invested. He was very interesting, that boy. Incredibly quiet, intimidatingly big yet the gentlest soul you could ever meet. Izuku couldn't remember ever seeing him upset in any way. It didn't make sense to think about.

After a minute or two, Koda's hands began to sign again, this time questions about Ichi. 'What's his name? How long ago did you get him? How old is he? What kind of bunny is he, how come he's so small?'

Izuku chewed on his lip, trying to fabricate some bullcrap that an animal expert would actually buy. But he never got the chance to; because just then, Miss Pixie-Bob was called back into an office by a grim looking green haired lady, who was holding a red corded phone to her ear. And although the office door shut, the two boys out by the kitten pen could hear every word.

Izuku wasn't a proud eavesdropper, but it was hard not to listen in to the protests of a few unhappy veterinarians desperate not to lose their animal shelter. Koda was tense too, his fingers twitching back into his lap as his managers pleaded for more time, more compassion. Something about bills being too big with not enough money coming in. About adoption visits sinking through the floor and too many strays to comfortably house, to _affordably_ house. It was heartbreaking, and Izuku's hero heart reached out to them despite being in no position to solve this. He was a vigilante, not a lawyer.

He looked back at Koda. His classmate's face was ashen, his eyes wide yet his mouth shut tight. His fingers were curled over each other tightly, almost painfully so. Izuku didn't stare too long, and instead returned his attention back to where Ichi was batting at a yellow tabby.

After maybe fifteen minutes, Pixie-Bob returned, a dark look on her face. the boys stopped and looked up at her, tense and quiet, and even the kittens and Ichi seemed to pause for a moment.

"I'm sorry," She began, somewhat quietly. "I'm afraid it's time for you to leave now, Midoriya. It was nice to meet you."

* * *

On the way home, Izuku was thoughtful.

"Izu-chan?" Ichi asked, concern evident in his voice. The bunny was riding in the front pocket of Izuku's Spiderman hoodie, nibbling on a yogurt treat that Koda had given him when they left. He seemed to like it a lot, so Izuku made a mental note to add that to the food he gave Ichi after battling as Rabbit.

In regards to Ichi's question, there wasn't much Izuku could think to say.

"Oof." He whispered.

Ichi's been with him long enough to decipher that. He gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's okay, Izu-chan. I know you would save the animal shelter if you could."

"Is there really nothing we can do?" He asked quietly.

"It is Rabbit's duty to look out for the wellbeing of the people of Japan." Ichi said. "But I'm afraid that doesn't cover economical issues. That just isn't your place to interfere."

"But what about the wellbeing of all those animals? Where will they go?"

"I don't know."

" _I_ could take them somewhere." Izuku offered hopefully. "I could get Lone to help me. We could take the animals somewhere safe so that they won't have to be euthanized-"

Ichi cut him off gently. "That would be very nice, Izu-chan, but you can't take care of that many animals. Between your civilian life and your hero life, it simply isn't possible."

Izuku wanted very badly to keep protesting, but deep down he knew that his kwami was right. It broke his heart, but it wouldn't help to keep pressing Ichi about a problem neither of them could solve.

So he shut his mouth, and stayed quiet all the rest of the way home.

* * *

Katsuki was doing his homework when he heard howling.

It was seven thirty, about a half an hour before his internal clock would pass him out for the night, and he only had five more questions left on this math assignment that he could no longer concentrate on due to the creepy, ominous sound from outside. It sounded like a dog, but none of Katsuki's neighbors owned any of those.

Well. Besides Katsuki himself.

The boy swung around in his swivel chair, eye twitching as he searched the open window for his idiot spaz of a kwami. "Boomi! I've told you a billion times not to howl like that!"

"And I've kept true to your demands." A little voice came lazily from right on top of Katsuki's pencil case, jarring the latter. Boomi was scratching his pointy ear with his back leg, tongue lolling out of his open mouth, showing off his sharp little teeth. "That wasn't me. Did your moron neighbors get a new pet?"

"...No...?" Now that was just weird. The Bakugous lived in a higher class neighborhood, where the houses were big with well kept lawns and clean roads and sidewalks; hardly any stray animals besides the odd raccoon managed to sneak into the walled off areas- especially not dogs. So how the heck did this one get here, and why was it howling so insistently?

 _I bet my wolf senses could figure it out,_ Katsuki's mind offered, but he shook off the thought. The circumstance was strange, but not strange enough to bust out the costume. He had homework to do.

Three minutes passed. And then another dog joined in, and Katsuki's pencil scratched to a halt on his paper. Yet _another_ dog joined in and Katsuki turned back toward the window, and when several _more_ dogs started howling and by this point were being joined by several other animal noises and he jumped right out of his seat to see what on _earth_ was going on.

What he saw outside confirmed for a fact that the circumstances were certainly strange enough.

"Boomi," Katsuki breathed, hearing his kwami zip up beside him. "You'd better transform me."

* * *

Izuku was watching a YouTube conspiracy theorist dramatically 'uncovering the true identity' of his alter ego Rabbit (the guy was off by a long shot, it was hilarious) when a sudden, strange chirping caught his attention. He paused the video and sat still on his bed, listening. On his shoulder, Ichi tensed up.

It was a little late for birdsong, wasn't it?

"Izu-chan," Ichi called quietly, and he went to meet his kwami's eyes. "I'm feeling something in the atmosphere. It's not good."

 _Slap!_ Izuku flipped his laptop shut, already moving to get out of his bed. "Do I need to transform?"

"Maybe. But I'm still not sure what this is."

"Let's check it out." Izuku moved for the window, where his curtains were already drawn, effectively shutting out the moonlight and casting his room in utter darkness save for the soft glow of his Captain America nightlight by the door. The chirping was getting louder, growing in number, and when Izuku opened up his curtains he was met with the most peculiar sight.

Birds. _Everywhere_. On his windowpane; no, on every windowpane of every apartment complex outside his own that he could see, on rooftops and the tops of cars and mailboxes and streetlamps and the poles of picket fences. They were all very chatty, causing windows to light up all over the complex and people peeking outside just like Izuku was doing, expressions paling just as Izuku's had. There were just so _many_ of them, all gathering together and squawking loudly down at a whole _armada_ of animals on the ground, who were beginning to speak up as well, causing an amazing ruckus right outside Izuku's window.

Izuku just blinked at the sight, his mouth agape. His hand slipped on his curtain, causing it to sweep away the scene and cast him into darkness once more.

"Big oof." Izuku whispered.

* * *

The first thing Katsuki noticed after transforming was the _urge_. The urge to what, exactly? Katsuki couldn't tell you. He was having a hard time figuring out himself. But it was there; a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that was prompting him to do _something_.

 _Something is causing these animals to congregate,_ Katsuki thought loudly in his head, to drown out the nag. _Maybe it's affecting me too because I'm in costume?_ Boomi's powers turned Katsuki into a 'literal humanized wolf' so that would certainly explain it. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a distraction when Katsuki and Rabbit faced off with the new villain.

Speaking of Rabbit, Katsuki's first priority should be finding and meeting up with his partner. If the villain had some sort of animal mind control, then it made every animal in Tokyo- or even all of Japan- a threat and a victim simultaneously. Katsuki was never good at the saving part of his job. Rabbit would need to take care of the animals while Katsuki went after the Big Boss.

He popped open the communication device on his baton, and speed dialed 'Cottontail'.

* * *

Izuku picked up immediately. "Lone. Are you feeling it, too?"

On the other end of the line, Lone was taking steady breaths. _He must be running._ Izuku himself was perched on the roof of his apartment complex, sitting very quietly among the chattering birds and trying not to provoke them. From this angle, Izuku saw just how far this predicament stretched through the neighborhood; animals covered the entirety of the apartment lot, stopping only at the very edge of the perimeter. Across the road was where it picked up again, where a _great_ _majority_ of animals were cats. _Cats_. On the rooftops. So many of them, oh gosh.

But the freakiest part of this whole ordeal was not the amazing congregation of animals, but the source of it. Izuku could _feel_ it. In the back of his mind... a nagging sensation urging him to do... _something_. It had to be the villain's power.

 _"If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then yeah, I'm feelin' it."_ Lone answered grimly. _"It's annoying. It's hard to concentrate."_

"I know. What's the circumstance where you're at?"

 _"Animals outside my place. A whole flood of them. Right now I'm among some stupid furry gremlins."_

"Cats?"

 _"Yep. Gremlins."_

"Where are you at right now?"

 _"Ahh... Just outside Tokyo. Musutafu."_

"I know where you're at. Don't move, I'll come to you."

 _"Ah, great."_ Lone muttered, but Izuku had already clicked 'end call'. His partner was probably just mad he had to wait among a bunch of cats (his natural enemy) but these animals didn't seem to be aggressive just yet. Keyword being, 'yet'.

Meeting up was the easy part. Izuku grabbed Lone and headed to the edge of the cat-swamped district to regroup. Based on Lone's behavior, the villain's power was affecting Lone much stronger than it was affecting Izuku, and that was really concerning.

"Don't sweat it, Cottontail. Power of friendship and whatnot." Lone dismissed. "Mind powers can't get ahold of me. Who do you take me for?"

That did not sooth Izuku's mind in the slightest.

Lone changed the subject. "Any ideas who the villain could be? Or are you just as lost as I am?"

"Um..." Lone was right, it was very difficult to concentrate with the nag at the back of his mind. He couldn't think, couldn't properly focus. "I... I can't think."

A tight smile. "I know. Looks like we'll just have to comb the city the old-fashioned way. I'll take Tattooin Station if you finish off Musutafu-"

"No no no- we can't split up." Izuku shook his head. "It's too risky when the villain's messing with our heads."

Lone spread his hands incredulously. "But that'll _double_ the time, Rabbit, we need to find this guy _quickly_ -!"

" _Trust_ me."

A long, shaky sigh. Izuku examined his body language, taking in the stiffness of his posture and the erratic tapping of his feet and his baton against the ground. The urge was making him more and more agitated. That wasn't good at all.

Finally, Lone looked back into Izuku's eyes.

"Okay. Okay, I trust you."

* * *

Anima was the name of Koda Koji's new mentality.

It was given to him by the same man who gave him this new power; the ability to control the minds of animals. Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish, everything; they all obeyed his every beck and call whenever he willed it, quickly giving him complete control of every shelter, pet shop, and vet, households with pets and areas dominated in strays. It never felt so good to have so many animals loose in the city. Humans panicked at the sudden aggression of pets and strays alike, falling with next to no conflict at the mercy of Anima's furry minions.

That was good. That was the way that things should be; humans submitting to the superiority of all earth's creatures, only above the bugs that crawled beneath their feet. Humans did not deserve to determine the fate of any other species; they did not deserve to withhold the animals from safe homes and good food and health care. They did not deserve that power! Pets should break free of households, creatures should break free of zoos, shops, shelters, centers- and roam free in a city that is now theirs for the taking. With Anima having taken on the characteristics of an animal, he alone would coexist with them, while the humans would take their rightful place as the strays they claimed to be so above-

 _Don't forget, Anima. Don't forget the most important task._

Ah, right, he must've gotten carried away. In return for this new power, the man had instructed Anima to fetch two very important jewels.

A choker and a bracelet. Those of which belonged to none other than Rabbit and the Lone Wolf.

Could this be a miracle? Anima was the new god of all animals; there was nothing he commanded that his furry friends would not obey. And Rabbit and the Wolf contained the powers of animals; they would not be spared from Anima's power. This would be like taking candy from a baby.

All he had to do was call for them. They would not be able to resist.

He called, and waited.

* * *

"I think we might be close... Lone?"

Katsuki was suffering. And not in the funny meme way where he was experiencing a minor inconvenience either; his entire body was buzzing painfully, more so with every step he took, every word he spoke, with every breath he took. After a point some time back he lost track of which direction he was going, only focusing on the back of Rabbit's head. He couldn't tell how fast he was going, what his surroundings were. Something was happening to him. He was getting very, very distracted by the urge in his head, the feelings, sensations, emotions it gave him.

He'd never, _ever_ tell Rabbit this, but it _scared_ him.

"I'm okay." Katsuki breathed. He slowed to a stop when Rabbit did, wobbling on his feet several inches away. Rabbit steadied him. His partner didn't look at his peak either, but at least he still held his coordination.

Rabbit bit his lip. It was clear he noticed Katsuki's predicament, but thankfully, he didn't bring it up. "Have you felt it getting stronger?"

Katsuki nodded mutely. Rabbit copied it. "Me, too. I think we're close. Can you finksbjlfaks?"

 _...What?_

Katsuki squinted and tilted his head. "Say again?"

And to Katsuki's horror, Rabbit's mouth formed clear words, but his voice came out completely warped. "Mbgko kaojen yira jslid?"

The tingling in his limbs was getting so much worse. Rabbit's grip on his shoulder got tighter and a hand came up to his chest to steady him again when he wobbled. His breathing was getting faster and Katsuki realized he was having a panic attack too late before he hit the cold hard concrete of the building roof. A numb pressure was apparent on the side of his head and something cold and metallic filled his mouth. He must've bit his tongue on the way down. Rabbit was there, a green blur as he tried desperately to rouse him.

"I'm fine." Katsuki tried to say, but his mouth wasn't working. Just as well. He certainly was _not_ _fine_. Nevertheless, he grabbed tightly to Rabbit's hand, heavily pulling himself back up into his partner's arms. This time, Rabbit's message got across, even through the blur and babble.

 _"I'm here."_

Katsuki let him hold him for a moment. Just for a moment. Then he pulled away. He was horribly uncoordinated. He wobbled. He buzzed. His mind was all over the place. There was a ringing in his ears and he couldn't understand Rabbit's words of concern at all. But despite it all, he refused to let it stop him. Because there was one thing left that he _could_ do.

He elongated his baton.

"Just... point me where to swing." He rasped.

* * *

Izuku was freaking out. Lone's eyes were unfocused, the pupils dilated until there was hardly any red left to see. He trembled like a leaf in a hurricane and his breaths came hitched and raspy. He was visibly twitching, his dog ears painfully strained and the tail flopped dead on the floor.

This had to be the work of the akuma. Izuku felt it too, but nowhere near to the intensity his poor partner did; it didn't make any sense. But it had to be close by in order for the magic to be this potent, right? They were _close_ , right?

"Stay with me, Lone." Izuku pleaded, but Lone couldn't even seem to understand, only giving him confused stares and little shakes of the head. In the back of his throat, a little whimper came forth. Izuku pretended not to notice, for Lone's sake.

They were getting pretty close to the center of the city. Izuku took a helpless guess that the villain must be there, due to Lone's behavior getting worse. He took Lone's hand and pressed forward.

And then Lone ripped right out of his grasp.

"Lone!" Izuku yelped as his partner suddenly bolted directly to the left of where Izuku was guiding him, taking off toward... Shibuya?

Izuku bit his lip, tore the skin, and made a choice. He followed. And as he followed, he realized something. This felt _right_. Like this was where he was _supposed_ to be going. The itching urge at the back of his mind eased.

This. This was how the villain was controlling them. They were getting in Lone's head. And it Izuku wasn't careful, they'd get into Rabbit's, too.

* * *

They met Koda Koji at the Shibuya Crosswalk, standing calmly among a sea of now wild animals. Zoos, shelters and shops were abandoned in favor for their new master's side, growling and snarling at Lone and Izuku when they arrived, but not attacking. It wouldn't be wise to attack just yet after all. Not when Koda had yet to get ahold of the jewels.

'Rabbit and the Lone Wolf.' Koda addressed in sign, making Izuku's heart ache. 'The revered Heroes of Japan.'

 _Koda-kun..._ Izuku thought sadly, his eyes trailing over his classmate's new beast-like features. Tough, jagged skin and sharp teeth had surfaced on the boy, a few extra inches making him even bigger than before. His eyes became white and red, his nose shrunk into his face, and he was growing spines on his back all the way up to the back of his neck. The akuma had done a number on him.

Izuku felt his eyes begin to burn, thinking about earlier that day; the phone call to the Pussycat Animal Rescue. His classmate loved animals, they were his light and joy- of course shutting down the shelter would be devastating for him. It made too much sense that he would be an akuma's next victim. Izuku clenched his jaw. _Don't worry, Koda-kun. I'll save you._

'You two certainly are amazing.' Koda grinned. 'Your animal-like traits have always intrigued me. I wonder just how much effort it will take to take control of your minds. You are half human after all. Just look at the Wolf. He's holding out for much longer than I anticipated.'

Izuku looked back at his partner, who was panting heavily now, gripping his baton tightly and trembling even harder than before. His eyes were dilated almost completely black, staring directly at Koda as though it'd kill him to look away.

"Lone?" Izuku rushed back toward him, feeling panic surface again. "Lone- hey- are you okay-?"

Koda snapped his fingers and Izuku whirled back to face him.

'It's rude to interrupt people when they're trying to focus.' Koda chastised. 'Don't break his concentration. Let him try to keep me out of his mind.' His mouth curled cruelly upward. 'Let's see just how long he can last.'

It was painful to watch. Lone staggered, eyes glued to Koda, his teeth clenched so hard his jaw must've creaked and his arms shaking horribly as he raised his baton.

"Stop it." Lone bit out. "Get... out. Of my head."

Koda didn't reply, neither out loud or in sign- he simply grinned, and held his hands to the sides as if to say, _come and get me_. A growl ripped at Lone's throat and he charged.

"Lone!" Izuku yelled, but his partner couldn't seem to hear him. His run was lopsided, his arms and legs moved like they were completely numb. His coordination was awful, and he swung four- five- six times at Koda only to miss every time with very minimal effort on Koda's part. Izuku hung back nervously as Lone's baton hit the ground and empty air, setting off loud, fiery explosions that spewed heat and smoke everywhere and filled the air of the crosswalk. It was all completely useless. Lone was fighting essentially blind and deaf. But he tried. He tried so hard.

Only to slip and fall painfully onto his side, hitting his head harshly on the blacktop.

"Lone!" Izuku cried, jerking forward to reach him- only to fall to his knees as his entire body dissolved into static.

'Dogs.' Koda signed with a shrug. 'The most obedient breed. The easiest to control.'

Izuku swallowed. At least he now knew why it affected Lone much stronger than it did him. But it still raised the question of how much longer Izuku could hold out.

 _Come on... come on... fight it, fight it..._ Izuku clenched his teeth through the painful static, pushing past the numbness and finding it within himself to stand. It was hard. But it wasn't like Lone. Izuku materialized his harp and gripped it between the strings, brandishing the sharp part.

'Might want to put that away.' Koda advised. 'You could fall on it when I ultimately gain control over you.'

"Ultimately." Izuku hissed. " _'Ultimately'_. That time is not yet."

'Rabbits.' Koda sighed. 'So rebellious. So flexible. Very hard to keep a good grip on them.'

"Yeah, well. I pride myself on flexibility." Izuku coughed. It hurt to speak. He foraged on. "Now where's the stupid butterfly?"

Koda smiled. He did not answer that question.

'You saw my animals all across Japan?' He signed instead. 'The moment I give the word, they'll take the country by storm. Humans will once more descend on the food chain, and animals will take their rightful place at the top.' He began to move forward, and on either side of him, two jaguars moved with him. 'I'll take yours and your puppy's Miraculouses in exchange for permanence of my powers. And you... you'll be human again. Lowly, insufferable, miserable- _painstakingly_ human again.'

Izuku was bending slightly over, panting in an effort to stay focused. Koda leaned down, down, down down... until he was looking up into Izuku's eyes.

 _"How does that make you feel?"_ He whispered aloud, and the words _hurt_. _Literally_. Izuku's defenses almost collapsed just hearing them.

So Izuku responded with his own dangerous word.

 _ **"SMASH!"**_

He shouted it at the top of his lungs, throwing the strongest punch he possibly could directly into Koda's stomach- and literally everything went flying outward. Koda, the animals, cars, streetlamps, dropped belongings from the people who'd been chased away- and Izuku. The force of the punch must've broken Koda's concentration, just then, because when Izuku hit the side of a building, he felt all of it with no numbness to ease it. _Ouch_.

It hurt, but he actually _smiled_ as he pushed himself up. _Okay, okay okay okay cool cool keep it cool- go get Lone, break the object, catch the akuma. Stay. Focused._

Izuku rushed back into the dark smoky stretch of the Shibuya Crosswalk, now dark after his Smash blew out just about every light in the vicinity. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision he looked around wildly for his partner, green lighting crackling along his limbs to light up his surroundings. Around his neck, his choker beeped, marking ten minutes before he transformed back.

"Lone!" Izuku called hoarsely. He cleared his throat. "Lo-!"

He heard the explosion before he felt it, and before he knew it, Izuku was tumbling several feet off to the side, cradling the scorch mark on his arm. It didn't break the fabric, but it felt like it burned his skin beneath it. Izuku looked up in dread to see two glowing red eyes making their way toward him.

"Lone." Izuku held up a hand. "Lone, stop. It's me."

Once again, it was as though he were blind and deaf, unable to see Izuku for who he really was, unable to comprehend his voice. And with the time that Izuku had left in costume, there was no possible way he could bring his partner to his senses before he changed back.

 _Come on, come on, what to do, what to do...!_

And then, an idea.

 _Ichi, lend me your endurance._ Izuku pressed his lips together. _Because this is going to hurt._

Izuku rose to a knee, and just as Lone's baton came down again, Izuku snatched the bar and yanked him around. The explosion went off and Izuku cursed at the pain, but he managed to swing the baton with enough strength to toss Lone further toward the center of Shibuya. Izuku quickly followed, dashing at top speed to meet him.

Lone was ready. He met Izuku with another swing of the baton, hitting Izuku on the shoulder with another explosion. Izuku careened but managed to stay close, diving back in, grabbing the baton, and swinging him around again, tossing him yet closer toward the center of Shibuya. then, again, he followed.

Animal noises became more apparent. Squawking, barking, meowing, chirping, croaking; they were getting closer to _him_. Lone pulled a quick one on Izuku by twirling his baton fast as a helicopter and bringing it down with all the force of a falling boulder, and _geez_ did that hurt like a _mother_ to catch with his hands, rendering them completely numb- but Izuku held on with what phantom strength he could, vocalized his pain and turned it into a battle cry, throwing Lone one more time into the center of the crossing. By now, Izuku could feel he effects of Koda's power. He was very close by. Perfect.

Izuku's choker beeped again. Five minutes.

"Lone!" Izuku shouted, and his partner's glowing red eyes glared back at him, scalding with anger. Just over Izuku's shoulder, the small voice of Koda hissed a command for Lone to follow. _"Kill him!"_

Lone kicked into a run.

"That's right, baby! _Come kill me!_ " Izuku roared, sparking green. He was smiling.

Lone abandoned his baton, throwing it haphazardly to the side as he ran and letting it blow up behind him. He splayed his fingers, and his palms sparked and glowed from red to orange to yellow, illuminating the hero in gold. He's never looked so amazing. Izuku felt his heart skip a beat.

Just as Lone approached, directly upon him, Izuku dove off to the side, and Lone's super power hit Koda Koji dead on in the chest. The explosion ignited immediately, blasting everything outward and lighting up this entire section of the city in hot, smoky orange. Just like Izuku's Smash, everything was thrown back several meters, except this time with far more burns.

And right there in the center, Lone was relinquished from Koda's control.

* * *

The akuma was in his nametag. Izuku never would have guessed, considering how small it was, how easily it blended into his supervillain costume. It was indeed very lucky that Lone's power managed to burn off pretty much all of Koda's upper clothing, guaranteeing the destruction of the akuma, and it was even more lucky that Koda's thick creature skin managed to save him from getting burned. Izuku caught the butterfly, and everything returned to the way it was, even returning all the animals to the shelters, shops, households and zoos.

Izuku gently lay a blanket over a passed out Koda, then he rushed back to where Lone was still standing in the center of the crosswalk, staring at nothing in particular. His ears sagged, and so did his tail. He was still breathing rather heavily.

Izuku bit his lip and checked his choker. He still had two minutes.

"Are you okay?" He asked, touching Lone's shoulder. Lone twitched. He didn't meet Izuku's eyes, or even look away from where he was staring. Everything about his stance shouted, 'shock'.

"I could have hurt you..." Lone's voice could barely be heard. "...I could have _killed_ you."

"Hey." Izuku circled around in front of him. Lone still stared off, past his face and somewhere into the buildings. " Hey. Don't be so sure. I don't go down easy, you know."

Lone shook his head. "I didn't want to hurt you, Rabbit."

"I know." Izuku took his face in both hands, tilting his head until Lone was finally looking him in the eye. "I know. You did great out there. I promise."

There was doubt on his face. He looked incredibly shaken; more so than Izuku had ever seen before. So Izuku did the most rational thing he could think of- pulled Lone into a tight hug.

At first, his partner stiffened. When he returned the embrace, it was tight, honest, and real.

* * *

'I'm just astonished that my villainy managed to convince so many people to adopt.' Koda signed, still shaking his head in disbelief. 'You'd think it would do the opposite.'

"Yeah, talk about reverse marketing." Izuku laughed, signing as he spoke. Koda chuckled quietly, reached over, and corrected 'reverse'. Izuku repeated it a few times to devote it to memory. In the playpen with the last remaining kitten, Ichi winked up at him.

'In any case, I'm just... so glad, that we managed to give so many of our animals a home.' Koda smiled at the ground, looking just as thankful as his statement suggested. 'They got good homes, and the money saved our shelter.'

"Win-win." Izuku agreed. "A happy ending all around."

'Although I suppose I should apologize.'

"To who?"

'Rabbit.' Koda sighed sadly. 'And especially the Lone Wolf. I did some terrible things. Said some terrible things. I don't know if they could ever forgive me.'

Izuku put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," He said earnestly. "They know you didn't mean any of that. You'd been akumatized, wrought with negativity, and that was not ever your fault. I'll bet they've already forgiven you, and wish you the best here at the shelter."

Koda smiled wobblily. He reached up and patted Izuku's hand. "Thanks." He whispered aloud.

Izuku nodded.

They watched Ichi and the kitten play for a short while longer. The Izuku spoke again.

"Say... how much for that kitten?"

* * *

 **Hey everyone! I'm _so_ sorry I missed my update last month. I had a tough time with this chapter; I rewrote it like four times and it was just ughajsflmf. But I'm really happy with this version, so I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

 **-DFTM**


	6. Episode 4: ALIEN QUEEN

Yuuei Private Academy prided itself with its amazingly over-the-top classes, clubs, and activities; taking everything seriously from basketball to chess club, making it all seem far, far more important and intense than it actually was. This was the case with Yuuei's bi-annual science fair- a giant party of an occasion where the students participating researched and developed the most insane projects they possibly could, getting higher scores based on creativity and influence. Needless to say, there were no baking soda volcanos in this competition.

Izuku was participating this year with Asui as his partner. Across several months, the two of them had been taking travel days where they'd take the bullet train to different lakes and rivers across Japan to collect seaweed and other underwater plants to test and examine the different types of bacteria from different locations. They had to take Izuku's mom with them, though, because she insisted she didn't want her son to go anywhere without parental supervision, which was understandable despite how embarrassing it was. At the lakes, they got permission to boat out and Asui dove in for the water plants while Izuku stayed above to sort them in containers. Asui would bring up a fish or a frog from time to time and scare the living daylights out of Izuku by putting them in his hair, and all in all they had a really good time. Research and experimentation with the project was fun, too. By the time the science fair came around, the both of them had a presentation ready and plenty of confidence.

When they carried their wooden boards, binned samples and clay models into the gym, they met up with Iida and Uraraka, who were arguing about how their models should be set up. Izuku's other friends had done an observation on the body types, flight, habitat and food of different bird species, determining the exact properties it took for them to fly so far and so high. And then- get this- they used that information to create their _own set of wings_ that they were going to _fly_ with for the judges. Talk about ambitious.

"Ah- there's the Green Team!" Uraraka called once she spotted them. "Over here! We saved you a spot next to us!"

"Great!" Izuku called back, and he and his partner rerouted to carry their project toward the others.

Setting up was the easy part. As the minutes passed, Izuku started to feel antsy about the judging. What if he messed up on the presentation? Stumbled on the words? What if his models were off? He could have sworn he did all the right measurements. And the specimens? He should double check the bins-

"Midoriya-chan." Asui said suddenly, and Izuku jumped. Her eyebrows were up and she was wearing an amused smile. "You're muttering again."

"Oh. Sorry." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

More students filtered into the gym with their presentations, setting up cleanly and straightening their uniforms so that everything was presentable. Fantastic. Everything was going smoothly thus far.

And then Kacchan's scary friends showed up.

There were four students in class 1-A that adamantly followed the moodiest boy in class everywhere he went, determined to be his friends. They were loud, wild, very obnoxious, not very smart- and they all took great pleasure in pissing Bakugou Katsuki off. One could say they were probably the _only_ people who could get away with that _relatively_ unscathed. Izuku didn't know how they did it. He flinched just _thinking_ about getting on Kacchan's nerves.

Needless to say, these kids were _bold_. And on that note, they rather intimidated the rest of the kids in their class. So when Kaminari Denki, Kirishima Eijiro, Sero Hanta, and Ashido Mina stormed into the gym screeching at the top of their lungs, everybody braced themselves.

Katsuki himself followed not far behind, looking understandably annoyed with his arms full of little metal containers. They were labeled with 'warning: explosive', and really, was what at all surprising? He and Jirou had apparently dabbled with nitroglycerin. Yikes.

To Izuku and his friends' discomfort, the crazy kids made their way directly toward them.

"Brace yourselves." Uraraka muttered, and the four of them plastered on the fakest smiles.

"Eyy, Tsu!" Ashido yelled, spreading her arms out to meet Asui in a hug. Asui had exactly no filter, so she sighed deeply at the contact, patting her friend's back in nothing less than flat acceptance. Ashido didn't seem to mind. "I heard you went on a trip with Midoriya for your project!" She wiggled her pink-dyed eyebrows. "Have _fun_?"

"It was productive." Asui deadpanned.

Ashido's smirk fell irritably, and she instead turned to Izuku with a little smirk. "What about it, Midoriya? You have a _good time_ with Tsu-chan?"

Izuku put on an ominous smile- should he tell her? He didn't have the heart to tell her. "She put frogs in my hair."

Ashido pouted. Clearly she wasn't getting anywhere with her teasing. Behind her, her partner Kirishima called for her to help him set up, and, just to be nice, Izuku asked what she had been working on.

"Oh!" The pink-haired girl jumped up and down excitedly, getting in real close to his face. "Acids! _Bone-melting acids_! Isn't that _legit_?"

Izuku laughed uncomfortably. Yeah, that made sense, coming from the scariest kids in class. "Yeah... Cool."

"Midoriya-chan and I studied a species of algae that could withstand acidic environments." Asui offered.

"Really?" Ashido reached to pick up a vial of cloudy liquid from her project. "Wanna put that to the test-?"

Suddenly, the overspeaker went off, and Aizawa-sensei's tired, deadpan voice filtered through. "The event's about to get started. Get into your places and get ready to present."

"We're testing that out." Ashido demanded as she reluctantly went back to her board. "Don't go anywhere after this."

* * *

The science fair was- Katsuki begrudgingly admitted- pretty cool. It helped that he was partnered up with the most competent of all his stupid friends, and that Jirou was pretty chill with working with dangerous liquids as a project for what made the biggest explosian. Nitroglycerin was one of the chemicals Katsuki was most familiar with, being able to actually _sweat_ in while he was the Lone Wolf. Not to mention Boomi knew plenty about it already.

His other friends did the most outrageous experiments for projects Katsuki had ever seen. Kaminari and Sero did a test to see which types of material were the best for insulation outside of electrical tape. At the moment, Kaminari was incredibly tangled in fifteen feet of silicone and Sero was snickering and giving him shocks from their electrical machine. Ashido and Kirishima had done a project on which acid dissolved different objects the quickest. Kirishima was currently sticking his finger in one of the weaker acids while Ashido cheered him on, the absolute psychos.

As Katsuki and Jirou set up next to Kirishima and Ashido, Katsuki made the mistake of looking to see who else was on this row. Who he saw made his irritation levels spring even higher than before.

"Oh, come _on_." He groaned. Jirou patted his shoulder.

"I know, man." She sighed. "'Deku this', 'Deku that', 'bla bla I hate Deku.' Just pretend he's not there."

"Listen." Katsuki turned and pointed at her, his finger just centimeters from her nose. "We gotta out-perform Deku. This idiot is going to try to win. So were going to steal first place right out from under him."

Jirou gave him a labored smile. She pulled her earbuds out of her ears and began twisting them up; probably to look more professional for the judges. "O-kay, man. I mean, we were shooting for first place anyway, but we can do it to upstage 'Deku' instead. That's fine."

"Can the sarcasm. I'm serious."

"Of course. Of course." Jirou put up her hands submissively, a little smirk on her face. She turned back to their presentation, rearranging a few things so that it looked better. Katsuki didn't hear it, but she added under her breath, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were _obsessed_ with the poor guy."

As the judges came around, some kids from the other classes waltzed in to watch the show. Katsuki didn't know a whole lot about Class 1-B - couldn't bring himself to care - so he didn't recognize anyone by name. There was, however, one boy in particular that nobody could forget, _unfortunately_.

"Ahh, look at them. Class A's fantabulous science fair." This was the snide remark of a blonde boy with pale blue eyes and a plastic smile, who's big head could only be upsized by his ego. "Look how amazing they are, with their fancy schmancy projects, acting like they're better than us. Wonderful Class A."

 _Geez, he sounds so desperate._

Katsuki never learned his name. The boy didn't deserve the luxury. So Katsuki just took to calling him, 'Copycat', because he was infamous for leeching off of other people's ideas. The trait was most prominent especially when he mocked and heckled Class 1-A about their achievements, and then turned right around to do exactly what they had done, in just about the exact same way. It was obvious that he was just jealous, but it was still so incredibly annoying.

"Oh, great." Katsuki recognized Ashido's groan from her spot at the table nearby. The pink-haired girl, much like the rest of Class A, couldn't stand this kid- but it was slightly different on her part. Copycat especially enjoyed picking on the _less intelligent_ members of their class, with Ashido being one of them, as well as Kaminari and Kirishima and Sero and that big tall guy, Foodie. Katsuki would never, _ever_ allow them to tell anyone, but he had been holding study dates with them, as they were his stupid friends after all. It admittedly bothered him to see someone picking on these kids he'd tried so hard to help.

"Forget about him, Mina." Kirishima implored her, tapping his fingers on their acid containers. "We're going to be showing everyone that we're not as stupid as they think!"

Ashido snorted. "Heck, you right." She took the jar from her partner and set it in front of the board. "We worked real hard on this. Time to table the turns!"

Katsuki couldn't help the twitch at the edge of his mouth. _Morons_.

* * *

Ashido Mina loved her project.

Beakers tall and wide were spread out on the table in front of their board of information, filled halfway with all sorts of acids from incredibly acidic to incredibly basic. They were color coded with little ripped strips of sticky note that had been taped to the containers, the name and chemical makeup of the liquid written in messy black sharpie. But to be completely honest, Mina still didn't understand half of that whatsit whatsit. She still couldn't differentiate H2SO4 from H2O2- it was all a bunch of barblegarble to her. All she really knew about this whole throw-together was that the purple beaker was 'ouch' and the white one was 'noice' and everything else was something on the scale between them. That and some selective learnings from skimming the Wikipedia page on acids. There wasn't a lot on there that she really digested.

But that didn't matter. Eijiro and she were just going to read that stuff off the board anyway. The _demonstrations_ were going to be the _fun_ part.

In a little bin behind the beakers were some items she and Ei planned to dissolve in the acids for the judges. Safety measures were included; they had some Amphomag (a powdery acid neutralizer) and gloves and glasses and crap, which made them feel like real scientists. It was going to be totally lit.

"What's this brown stuff?"

She and Ei glanced up to the terrible sight of the most annoying boy in the entire school leaning over their containers of acid. Mina groaned aloud, and maybe Ei would have, too, if he weren't such a decent dude. Instead, he gave Monoma a tight smile, and answered his question.

"It's Coke." He said. "It, uh, says so. Right there on the beaker."

Monoma blinked. "I knew that."

Mina tossed a look across the gym to where Yaomomo and Todoroki were presenting their project on "the environmental difference between sugar and salt crystal stalactites" to the judges. They were still five groups away. This was going to be a torturous wait.

"Why do you have Coke in a beaker?" Monoma snipped. "Did you seriously just sneak snacks into the prestigious _Yuuei bi-annual science fair_?"

Ei responded completely deadpan. "Soda has acidic qualities. It's part of our project."

Monoma's snooty voice died in his throat again.

 _Another blow to Copycat's pride,_ Mina thought haughtily, Bakugou's nickname for him tugging a smug smile at her lips. _Oof levels are over 9000!_

"Believe it or not, Monoma-kun," She began again, smug tones in her voice. "We actually know what we're doing. We have a huge variety of chemicals that we worked hard to put together. The purple one is so crazy you could compare it to xenomorph blood from that movie Alien."

She threw a glance behind her, past Tsu and Midoriya's project to where Bakugou and Kyoka were still setting up. For just a moment, she thought she caught him looking, Bakugou. She felt an exciting shock rush through her- was he curious about how she would react to this annoying brat? Was he finally regarding her as a friend?! This was a great time to show off!

She opened her mouth to deal the final blow.

Monoma beat her to it. And he hit quite a low point.

* * *

Katsuki had to admit it. When he saw Ashido freeze up at something Copycat said, he tensed up a little. Kirishima looked pretty shook too, his mouth dropping open. And there wasn't any time at all to tap Jirou on the shoulder before the pink-haired girl clamped her jaw shut, cast her narrowed eyes to the side, and quietly rushed toward the exit of the gym.

"What- hey, where's Mina going?" Jirou perked up, her eyes widening. "What happened?"

"I think Copycat said something." Katsuki murmured, eyebrows furrowing. That wasn't normal. Why did he get that sudden rush? He never usually felt like this at all when something like this happened. But this was really troubling him. For some reason, he suddenly, very much wanted to throw a clenched fist right into Copycat's jaw.

Next to him, Jirou's teeth clacked. "I hate that guy." Then she reached over and set down the jar of nitroglycerin she was holding. "Listen, I'm gonna go after her... Bad things always happen when people get upset."

 _She's talking about Akumas,_ Katsuki realized. Of course the girl pieced these things together quickly; Jirou was very observant, after all. Nevertheless, Katsuki's respect for her jumped a few degrees, and that was saying something. He didn't let it show.

"Fine." He muttered gruffly. "I'll be here, because, you know, I actually _care_ about my grade. You go run off and get Pinky."

His words were dismissive enough, but this was Jirou. She could see _right_ through him. She smiled.

"Be right back."

* * *

Kyoka hadn't been expecting the concern from Bakugou. It certainly wasn't obvious, but it definitely was there... the arch in his eyebrows, the little nip of his lower lip. She smiled just thinking about it. So he really did care after all.

The hallways were empty when she left the gym, looking left and right for any sign of where her friend might've gone. Everyone else had already gone to class, the classroom doors shut and the teachers already gesturing at the boards where Koyoka saw them through the windows. Nobody was around wandering between classes, nobody was at the drinking fountain or rushing toward the bathrooms.

Not necessarily did that mean that the bathrooms were completely unoccupied. As Kyoka hesitantly cracked the door to the girl's restroom, she heard it; a small growl coming from the biggest stall at the end.

"Why would he say something like that..." Came Mina's voice, low and upset. She wasn't crying yet, but she sounded close to it. "Stupid boy..."

Kyoka quietly entered the bathroom, tossing a glance at her reflection in the mirror before starting to walk-

That's when she saw it.

It was everything she'd heard about, everything she'd feared; a butterfly, dark, dark purple with an eerie shadow to outline it, as though it were sucking away all the light around it. It flapped quietly toward the back stall, a bug on a mission.

Kyoka lurched forward, her arm outstretched. "Mina-!"

 _Ching!_ An ominous sound like the ring of a bell chimed forth from the stall, and an almost unnoticeable wave trickled through the air like a soft wind, sending chills across Kyoka's skin. Goosebumps rose, the hairs on her arms stuck straight up, and she backed up several feet.

"I hear you loud and clear, Sensei." Mina's voice came, husky and dark.

 _Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no-_ Kyoka grabbed the bathroom door handle and threw it open, causing the hinges to shriek. She had no more time to react.

* * *

A nip on the back of Katsuki's neck made him jump with a hiss. He reached back and swatted his upraised collar, where Boomi was hiding, pressed against his skin.

" _What the heck, Boomi!_ "

"I feel a dark presence." Boomi answered immediately, a growl in his throat. His little black pupils were dilated almost completely, his ears flat to his head.

Geez... it must be a pretty strong force if Boomi looked _this_ worried.

 _Jirou must not have reached Ashido in time,_ Katsuki thought, his stomach sinking. He threw a glance all around, checking out the gym and making sure nobody was watching him. Everyone was preoccupied with their own things. Well, that and Copycat was looking to piss off Sero to no avail (that guy was the epitome of 'chill') and Deku was looking squirmy. But Deku always looked squirmy, so Katsuki didn't put too much thought into it.

In any case, Katsuki managed to sneak off cleanly. He quickly transformed in the janitor's closet right outside the gym, then quietly tiptoed through the halls, ducking past the classroom windows so not to cause a scene. The last thing he needed right now was paparazzi while he was looking for a new villain.

Speaking of that, it was a surprise that it had already been fifteen minutes and there was no obvious sign of Ashido anywhere. Usually villains make themselves known immediately, wreaking havoc the moment they transformed. Was it possible that Ashido, dumb, weird, crazy Ashido who dyed her hair bright pink and wore black contacts for school picture day, was actually a _strategic villain_?

 _Either that'd be incredibly out of character,_ Katsuki thought to himself. _Or I don't know her as well as I thought I did._

When he passed the water fountain, his attention was suddenly drawn to a dark spot on the carpet underneath it. An occasional drip was leaking from the pipe, making a strange sizzling sound when it dropped into the puddle below. Katsuki knelt down to examine it, noticing the odd chemical smell it produced. Curious, he turned the knob on the fountain.

The liquid that sprung out was most certainly not water. It had a yellowish tint to it and a very strong smell. But that wasn't all; the moment it touched the steel basin, it started to _melt it_.

"Acid." Katsuki whispered aloud to himself, quickly turning the fountain off. "Yeah... Yeah okay. That makes sense. Cool."

This was _not_ _cool_.

And then, suddenly, a distressed shout tore through the hallway, and Katsuki immediately jumped into action.

* * *

Izuku managed to sneak out of the gym under the guise of using the restroom. What he hadn't counted on was Kaminari coming along with him. Looking back on it, that was probably for the best, anyway. It was Kaminari who found Jirou, after all.

Izuku transformed in the bathroom several seconds before Kaminari caught up to him, barely outside the door when he let out a loud, horrified shout. As Rabbit, Izuku dashed for the door, nearly bowling the distressed boy right over and jarring the absolute life out of him.

"Ra-Ra-Ra-!" Kaminari stuttered, shell-shocked and eyes wide.

Izuku snapped him out of it, completely authorative. "What's wrong? I'm on the search for a villain- did you see something?"

Kaminari pointed.

When Izuku turned to look where the blonde was pointing, he felt his stomach drop into his shoes. The girl's bathroom, which was only several feet away from the boy's, was wide open, the door leaning heavily on its hinges. From this angle outside the boy's room, it was easy to see right inside- to see several bathroom stall walls collapsed in on each other, pinning a girl to the tiled floor.

 _Jirou,_ Izuku realized, his blood going cold, and he bolted for the pile of debris.

The girl was trapped, lying flat on her chest and coughing a bit as the broken stalls lie heavily on top of her. Izuku reached out to move them, but jerked his hands back the minute he saw they were melding into each other, getting stuck together due to them being dripped in what appeared to be acid. It was a miracle none of it had reached Jirou yet.

"Ji- Hey, miss?" Izuku corrected himself, smoothing her hair away from her face in an attempt to rouse her. She didn't look too injured besides a few scratches and bruises, dusted with drywall that had blown out with the stalls. She coughed a few times, looking up at him blearily.

"Rabbit?" She sounded like she wasn't so sure.

Izuku smiled. "Everything is okay." He promised. "I'm here now."

Jirou copied his smile wobbily. "Here in the girl's bathroom." She joked weakly.

"Hey!" Izuku quickly turned to see the Lone Wolf arrive, shouldering past Kaminari to find room next to his partner. He looked genuinely concerned to see Jirou pinned, which was a surprise since he never usually worried about civilians on villain hunts. Lone spoke again, "She alright?"

"She's just trapped."

"Mina." Jirou said suddenly, and everyone perked. She shook her head to rid of some of the dust in her hair, and looked Izuku in the eye. "I saw her get villainized. I didn't get to her fast enough. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." Izuku tried to say, but she wasn't finished speaking.

"She's really fast. Wearing blue and green. She's, um, pink now. If any of that helps." Jirou tried to explain. "Her power. It's, uh-"

"Acid." Lone finished with a curt nod. "Stop talking. You're going to shift the debris. Rabbit, help me."

Izuku raised his eyebrows when Lone stepped forward, flexing his hands before reaching into a few cracks to lift the stall doors. He did what his partner told him, however, adjusting his grip and pulling. With their combined strength, it was easy to lift the debris up and tip it over to lean against the back wall. Jirou quickly pushed herself to her feet. She stumbled, and Lone caught her.

"Good?" He asked gruffly, and she nodded shakily. "Good. Hey, Dunce-face." Lone snapped his fingers at Kaminari, and the blonde rushed forward, gently taking Jirou from him and helping her stand. "Get her back to the science fair. Tell the teachers to shut and lock their doors. We'll make short work of the villain, yeah?"

Kaminari nodded. "Uh. Kay."

And with that, Lone and Izuku rushed out of the bathroom and back through the hall.

* * *

"That was nice of you." Rabbit chimed as they ran. Katsuki was glad his mask covered the flush that bloomed across his face.

"I'm a nice person." He grumbled.

But yeah, sure. So maybe he did care about his stupid friends after all.

* * *

Maijima Higari was tired.

Honestly, engineering classes were the worst classes to teach. Every kid who took the elective was always so energetic and excited all the time, bouncing off the walls and throwing things together like they were toddlers in a room full of Legos. It was almost impossible to keep track of every single one. _Especially_ that Hatsume girl- or as Higari personally liked to call her, _an actual demon incarnate_.

Of course, there was a reason he was chosen to be Yuuei's top-notch engineering sensei. His students liked calling him by a nickname, 'Power Loader', because he was the ultimate fixer-upper and could fix just about anything. Unfortunately, his amazing talents never went unnoticed among the teachers, either, and always put him on the spot whenever there was a minor inconvenience with this stupid giant school. _'Ooh, Maijima-kun, the internet's down, would you be a dear?' 'Oooh, Maijima-kun, the refrigerator in the teacher's lounge is off, give us a hand?' 'Auughegh Maijima-kuuun, I can't figure out the projectorrr, hurr durr heeelp.'_

And now something's going on with the pipes. Lovely. Just lovely.

As Higari descended the last flight of stairs into the basement, he was immediately greeted by the horrible mess of pipes that he hated so much, running along the ceilings and walls like a bunch of tangled spaghetti. Honestly, what a complete nightmare of pipework. If only Higari had been one of the people to set this system up; he'd have made it nice and organized, so that plumbers could actually _locate_ what they were trying to fix...

He examined the metal tubes with a flashlight, walking deeper and deeper into the dark area, listening out for the steady drip of liquid. There must be a hole in one of these babies. He'll get that patched up rather quickly.

The pipe with the hole was near the end of the basement. When Higari took a look, he was surprised at what he saw; instead of being blown out or even cracked, the metal seemed to have been _melted straight through._

"What the...?" Higari breathed, but was cut off by a sudden crash nearby. He jerked around in surprise, throwing his flashlight beam toward the sound. All that greeted him was the cold, musty basement walls, dark and empty.

That was weird. Really weird. But Higari swallowed the tension and straightened up again, telling himself not to get all superstitious. Fix the leak, go back to class and deal with all the crazy little demons in the engineering course. They... _were_ the only demons in this school, weren't they...?

He turned around once more, bringing his flashlight beam with him,

And caught sight of something horrible.

* * *

"Acid came pouring out of the water fountain when I turned it on." Katsuki explained, stopping for just a brief moment to look over the map of the school posted on the wall. The map was hung just outside the elevator, which was a nice convenience since the place they were looking for was five floors down. "So she must be somewhere by the plumbing."

"Basement." Rabbit nodded, following him into the elevator. "Good thinking. But how can we be sure she hasn't left the premises already?"

 _Because if she wants revenge on a certain person, there's not much farther she can go_ , Katsuki thought with a frown. He didn't even blame her. Nobody liked Copycat. She could melt him into soup for all he cared. But poisoning the school; that was going a bit too far.

"Just trust me." He muttered.

Rabbit blinked, but smiled softly, leaning back against the wall. "When have I never?"

There he goes again, being the best partner Katsuki could ever ask for. It wasn't often that people put their trust in Katsuki; not much as the Lone Wolf and absolutely never as a civilian. Rabbit was more loyal than Katsuki was used to... Rats, Katsuki was definitely flushing up again. Although it wasn't like that was a _bad_ thing.

"You know..." He began, bringing back a bit of a flirt. "We've still got a little time before the elevator doors open up."

His partner pursed his pretty lips, looking up at the descending numbers. "That is true."

"So...?" Katsuki inched toward him idly.

Rabbit kept his eyes on the floor numbers. "So?"

Katsuki lifted an arm up, over Rabbit's head, by means of dropping it on his cute little shoulders. The other boy was relaxed and calm, so Katsuki tried to be relaxed and calm as well, but now that he was actually doing this he was starting to get a bit nervous. He waved it away. _Come on, stupid, make a move!_

 _Ding!_

The elevator doors slid open, and Rabbit whisked off, leaving Katsuki hanging. Katsuki opened his mouth to protest, but his partner turned to face him, standing in the doorway to keep it from closing.

"Better luck next time, puppy." He winked, and breezed up the left hall.

 _Puppy._ Katsuki felt a smile twitch at his mouth. He rushed to follow him.

* * *

The basement was very big and dark, with pipes and tubes running all along the ceiling and walls like a mess of spaghetti, and a whole bunch of creepy wooden shelves and desks stretching out to fill the space of the floor like a maze. Lone tried the light switch, but nothing even flickered. Pretty crappy for such a prestigious school like Yuuei.

"You'd think they'd fix this up a little with all the funding they get..." Lone muttered, and Izuku shrugged.

"School full of rich kids? How else are they gonna pay for all that caviar?"

The two of them shared a small chuckle, and Lone held up his baton, now glowing neon orange along one edge. Izuku's harp glowed too, green, on one of its curved sides. It was as good of a flashlight as any.

"You go left, I go right." Lone said. "Look out for something pink."

With a nod, they separated.

It was a tedious search. Izuku swept his harp-light from side to side, illuminating the ominous dark furniture in dim green, and in all honesty it just made the atmosphere so much creepier. Like... something out of a horror movie. Oh, he'd seen far too many horror movies for his own good, and if they were anything to go by, this was exactly where Izuku got jumpscared and brutally, bloodily murdered-

 _Geez, I should really stop watching rated R movies._ He already got enough shock factor as it was being a superhero. His mother password-locked those things for a reason. Just thinking back on them was really screwing up his focus right now.

 _Death by melting. Melting into a puddle. Just like Pharoh Curse Three._

 _Shut up!_ He waved the thoughts away irritably, sweat forming on the back of his neck. But he didn't even try to reassure himself that such a fate wasn't real. Because as long as Ashido Mina could drip acid from her fingertips, that was most _certainly_ on the table.

 _Drip!_

Izuku froze right in his tracks. He blinked, looking down at the ground mere inches in front of his big red shoes, listening to the slight sizzle that came from the little wet spot on the concrete. His stomach sinking, he slowly, slowly turned his head up, lifting his harp ever so slightly to illuminate the ceiling...

"Yikes." He breathed.

There she was. Holding onto the metal tubes of the ceiling was an _actual demon_ and when Izuku stressed on that he wasn't even joking. Bright pink skin and hair tainted a blueish green from the light of Izuku's harp, she looked like something otherworldly, her eyes completely black save for little pinpoints of bright orange, and fangs digging into her dark lips. Jagged horns sprouted from her messy hair, claws sprung from her fingertips, and her palms were wet and dripping, falling to the ground around Izuku and melting into the pipes she held. The closer the acid came to burning a hole into the tubes, the more of a squeal the pipes made, ready to burst.

For a hot second, they just froze, staring at each other.

Then, without a word, Izuku lashed out, fast as lighting, throwing his harp like a boomerang at the girl dangling above him and then immediately dashing off to the side. It was a good thing he did, because she dodged, and the harp hit the weakened pipes, causing them to explode outward and spewing acid-tainted water all over the place. The bare minimum of a spray managed to hit Izuku, just his leather glove, and it ate away into the top of the material like melting snow.

Izuku's harp beeped erratically as it returned to him, the electronic communicator and the light flickering and dissolving into static as acid chewed away at it. All around him, the hall was going dark, the light seeping away and leaving the quick, ominous dash of Ashido's silhouette to appear, disappear and reappear in the cover of darkness. It was horrifying, and Izuku found himself backing up several feet, cursing his costume for not coming equipped with night vision.

He couldn't take his eyes off Ashido. He couldn't let his guard down.

As his light faded, he shouted, " _Lone!_ "

* * *

Katsuki was halfway down his own pathway when he heard a groan from nearby, and the sound of trickling liquid. He perked up, clutched his baton, and strained his ears, his enhanced hearing picking up on any sounds that could be considered suspicious. But he didn't hear any sneaky footsteps or otherworldly hissing. Just pained breathing, and some quick heartbeats.

He prepared himself for a fight, activated his night vision, and crept quietly toward the sound.

There, a few feet behind an overturned bookshelf and trapped within a cage of broken, twisted, sizzling pipes, was the familiar face of Class H' s engineering sensei, mumbling incomprehensibly and throwing out several profanities. Katsuki could understand that- he too would be spewing course language if this fic wasn't rated T.

He didn't call out right away; it wouldn't be a good idea to jar the teacher while in this predicament. Instead, Katsuki snuck in close to examine the damage: Maijima-sensei was tented in rather than pinned down, trapped but still protected from the falling debris above him and the small waterfall of acidic water. He wasn't completely free of injury, though; he was holding his right shoulder, which looked really... Terribly... acid burned.

At least he looked safe. But that couldn't be guaranteed for as long as Ashido ran loose akumatized, so he figured now wouldn't be a bad time to dig the man out.

"Sir." Katsuki began, his voice gruff and relatively loud within the quiet of the basement. The man jumped, just like Katsuki thought he would, cursing aloud.

Katsuki held up his baton, shining light on the man for the first time. "Don't freak out. You'll just bring her back."

Maijima-sensei blinked, his breaths ragged. He squinted. "...Lone Wolf?"

"In the flesh. Now be quiet while I dig you out."

And, of course, that was the exact moment that Katsuki heard a loud crash from several meters away, and his partner's anxious shout.

"On second thought," Katsuki redirected. "I'll be right back."

* * *

The chase was on. Pipes blew out from the walls and ceiling behind Izuku as he bolted, sparking green, through the pathways, gripping his harp and thinking wildly to come up with a plan. He could knock a few bookshelves over behind him, but at the same time he wasn't so keen about losing Ashido in the dark- especially since now he only had the slight glow of his powerup run.

He considered and then deconsidered a Smash. It could knock a skyscraper over- that powerful of a blast beneath an active school? Was he crazy? Absolutely, but not _that_ crazy.

Besides, he didn't dare touch her. It freaked him out to think about getting a punch in only just to watch his whole fist dissolve, _painfully_. He was already nervous about the damage on his glove.

He needed Lone.

Just as Izuku was coming upon the door to the basement, with light spilling in through the open way, Ashido's voice, raspy and shrill, rang out with a ' _yeet_!'-

 _Oh crap-_

-and he was struck from behind by a heavy piece of pipe, hitting him right between the shoulder blades and effectively throwing him to the ground. As he shoved himself back to his feet, lightheaded from such a sudden, now aching hit, he turned around to see the villain approaching him slowly.

"You know I had to do it to you..." She grinned maliciously. "...Rabbit."

Wow. As scary as she was, Ashido really hadn't changed at all. In that case, there was clearly only one way to respond.

"Don't mess with me." Izuku held out his harp with a small grin. "I have the power of the author and anime on my side."

Ashido's dark eyes lit up like that was the absolute best way he could have answered. She raised her hand, dripping with sizzling acid, ready to throw out the burning liquid with means to melt him into rabbit soup. If anything else, at least Izuku managed to gain her respect before he died.

He held up his harp, knowing full well it couldn't protect him, and then-!

 _BANG!_

The cavalry arrived.

With a yank of his collar, Izuku was thrown onto the ground again (ow) as Lone swung his baton, punching Ashido straight in the stomach and exploding, throwing her out of range with an enraged shriek. Lone pulled Izuku back onto his feet with a strong yank of his arm, and the two of them finally managed to back up onto the steps of the basement.

"Hey, Cottontail." Lone addressed casually.

"I found the villain." Izuku panted.

"I can see that. I found a civilian. He's trapped under some rubble. Let's clean this up quickly so you can go save him."

 _What? Because you're suddenly not a nice person anymore?_ Izuku thought in confusion, thinking back to Jirou and Kaminari, but quickly shook it in favor of the more important task at hand; taking care of Ashido, who was now _in the doorway and actively making her way up the basement stairs_.

Without needing any words, Izuku grabbed Lone into his arms and flashed green, bolting up the stairs at the speed of light.

* * *

To Asui Tsuyu's unfiltered annoyance, the judges were already to Ochaco-chan's board right next to hers, and Midoriya-chan still wasn't back yet. He'd told her a good thirty minutes ago that he was going to the bathroom, and it honestly made no sense why he was taking so long. He was going to miss the presentation and screw this whole thing up...

Suddenly, the door to the gym slammed open, and everyone's heads whirled in surprise. There, standing in the doorway with the wildest of looks on their faces, was Kaminari-chan and Kyoka-chan, the latter looking shockingly beaten up while leaning heavily on the former's shoulder. The two of them rushed into the gym, yelling loudly.

"Sensei!" Kaminari hollered, his yellow eyes wide. "There's been another attack!"

The presentations abandoned, students and teachers alike rushed forward to help the two shaken teenagers. Tsu, Ochaco and Iida gathered in confusion before making their way to their friends together.

Kyoka was rubbing at her head, which was dusted with drywall powder and riddled with several scratches. She looked shaky on her feet, with a small limp. She addressed the crowd seriously. "Mina's been villainized. Rabbit and the Wolf are here; they told us to shut and lock the doors until further notice."

As the class and teachers went to obey, the last of Bakugou-chan's friend group congregated around the arrivals, asking them questions of concern. Tsu found herself listening in as Kyoka described what happened to her.

"She attacked me in the bathroom. I got trapped under a lot of debris; Rabbit and the Wolf had to dig me out." She explained. "Who knows if she got anyone else. We have to keep the doors locked until the heroes take care of this."

And with that, Tsu paled, feeling her thoughts drift back toward Midoriya. She met Ochaco and Iida's eyes realizing that they had come to the same conclusion.

But there was no time to think things through, because suddenly, the doors blew inward again.

* * *

They didn't even realize how close they had gotten to the gym before they had already reached it, the doors blasting inward and tearing straight off their hinges. Students and teachers cried out and reeled back, dodging as Katsuki and Rabbit tumbled into the fray. And there, standing flamboyantly in the middle of the doorway, Ashido spread her hands, liquid dripping from them and melting into the floorboards of the gym.

"Surprise, mothersuckers." She called out, looking very satisfied to have found the science fair again.

Rabbit stumbled back to his feet, twirling his harp in his hand as a nervous habit. He sounded winded. "Don't let her hurt the students."

Katsuki joined him at his side. "That'll be your job, Cottontail. You can't do anything with that harp and besides, this girl requires a long distance fighter."

Rabbit bit his lip. "...Right."

" _Ashido_!"

Both heroes and the villain alike jerked their heads in the direction of the shout, seeing four familiar faces standing horrified just eight feet away. To Katsuki's dread, it was all his stupid, idiotic friends, grouped together and staring as though they couldn't believe what they were looking at; minus Jirou, who'd already seen this and just looked grim.

The pink girl's lip curled up to reveal her sharp teeth. "I'm not Ashido anymore." She snarled, making her friends flinch back. "The new name is _Alien Queen_!"

"Oh geez." Kirishima whispered.

Katsuki couldn't help it; he jumped onto this immediately, grabbing his partner's attention. "Rabbit, get them away from her!" He twirled his baton several times, brandishing the explosive edges threateningly. "I'll take care of Pinky."

With a nod, Rabbit bolted back to where Katsuki's friends were standing, making short work of rounding them up and herding them back toward the rest of the science pair participants. Meanwhile, Katsuki breathed in and out deeply, taking his attention back to his akumatized friend in the doorway.

 _Let's get you back, Ashido._

* * *

 _And now you're a good person again,_ Izuku mused, keeping the crowd at bay while Lone went to work throwing attacks at Ashido. It was hard to land any sort of hit on her without the risk of tainting his weapon with her acid, just like Izuku's harp. The explosions were getting noticeably weaker, meaning she must have already done some sort of number on it. But Lone was right; close range fighting would have been particularly bad with her power. Honestly, when would Izuku ever have a time to shine?!

Meanwhile, Izuku was having a little more difficult of a time than he thought he would keeping the kids away from the fight. For one, Kirishima in particular seemed pretty intent on getting closer to the dangerous villain, a weird container of something in his hands.

"Okay- _seriously_ , dude, you've got to keep away from this fight!" Izuku finally commanded in a very firm voice, calling upon his authority as Rabbit to hopefully intimidate the crazy kid back into his place. Unfortunately- well, looking back, it was probably fortunate for Izuku anyway- Kirishima was adamant, holding up the container in his hands.

"No," He insisted. "I think I can help."

* * *

Alien Queen was just about finished here. Her acid had infiltrated the plumbing, she'd compromised the fixer-upper down in the basement, and now she was about to finish off Japan's only two superheroes. She would off that miserable Copycat (bye, Felicia!), and return the miraculous jewels to the man who gave her these powers, sealing off their deal and allowing her to keep these powers for good; where was the downside? Everything was going perfectly, all according to plan.

The Lone Wolf jumped away again when she threw acid out at him, laughing. His baton was getting weaker the more times he touched her with it, slowly eating off at the weapon until he wouldn't be able to use it any longer. It was all a matter of waiting, now. The explosions would fade, the baton would crumble, and the Queen could finally give this puppy what he deserved.

That is, until someone suddenly shouted, "Lone, duck!"

It surprised both her and the Wolf, but the Queen didn't react nearly as fast as the latter, slow to realize what was happening until the Wolf had already dodged, and she was already, suddenly, covered head to toe in a heavy white powder.

She spun away with a snarl, shaking her limbs but to no avail. The powder stuck, annoyingly enough, and just five feet away, good old Ei was standing tall in between Rabbit and the Wolf, holding a familiar-looking container.

 _Who cares about him!_ The voice in the back of her head shrieked. _Get them now!_

She tried to throw acid once more... only to find that her hands had dried up.

 _What?!_

She tried again. And again. And _again_! She tried sweeping the powder off but to no avail- what _was_ this crap?!

"Amphomag." Eijiro called triumphantly, his eyes gleaming. "Acid neutralizer. Brought it for our science project, remember, Mina?!"

The Queen howled in anger, lurching forward to attack again, but this time, Rabbit and the Wolf were ready. With her acid dried up, the two of them could get in close range; most problematically Rabbit, who had a whole slew of moves tucked away just for that. With only a few strategically placed punches and grabs, the Queen was finally subdued for just long enough for Ei and the Wolf to step forward, examining her.

"There." Eijiro pointed. "In her ID tag. She had it on when she left."

The Wolf nodded took the tag in his hands, and tore it in two.

The rest is history.

* * *

Izuku considered it just _lucky_ that his harp was still intact enough to cleanse the akuma. Nevertheless, it fixed his harp completely in the end anyway, as well as Lone's baton and the whole problematic situation that was the poisoned water supply. Izuku had run down to rescue an injured Maijima-sensei, and both he and Jirou had to take a trip to the school nurse. Izuku still wasn't sure why Lone had a 'rescue' preference for Jirou over Maijima, or a soft spot for any five of those kids in general. Maybe crazy people of a feather flocked together.

Anyway, now that that ordeal was over, Ashido was giving her statement to the teachers and several security guards, and Lone had already left, Izuku returned, detransformed, to the gym for whatever was left of the science fair. The fair was still intact, fixed up when Izuku had played his harp, so now everybody grouped by their boards, waiting nervously for what would happen next. By Izuku's board, Asui, Uraraka and Iida stood with a frown on their faces.

"Hey!" Izuku jogged to meet them, and they jerked, the girls putting hands over their mouths.

"Midoriya-chan!" Asui gasped in releif, and all three of them bolted forward to throw him into a rib-crunching hug. Izuku squeaked and pushed them away, gasping for breath when they finally let him go.

"Thank heavens!" Iida's eyes were wide. "We were ever so worried about you! When we heard Jirou-kun and Maijima-sensei had been injured by Ashido-kun's villain episode, we were so afraid that you had been injured in some way as well! Were you hurt at all?"

Izuku blanched. Oh, that's right. He needed an alibi.

"I'm okay." He decided on the fly. "I was. Apprehended. At the bathrooms. The stall doors got melded together and I was stuck for a while, but I didn't get hurt."

"Glad to hear it." Asui smiled. His friends all copied it, and Izuku didn't need any acid at all to feel his heart start to melt. His friends were the best.

* * *

When Mina joined Eijiro back at her board, she accepted the short hug and once pat on the back from her friend.

"Good to have you back, Pinky." Ei told her sincerely. "I'm sorry Monoma said that."

Mina gave him a wobbly smile. "I'm okay now. I won't let it happen again."

"Said what?"

The both of them jolted a little at the new voice, and Ei and Mina turned to see Bakugou coming forward with Jirou and Sero and Kaminari. Bakugou's expression didn't _look_ curious in any way, but his eyes gave him away.

Mina mouthed an 'oh'. She lifted a hand to scratch at the back of her head, embarrassed. She might as well tell them. They deserved to know. "Well... I was heckled in middle school... for not being born here in Japan. My classmates called me an 'alien' for looking different. I haven't been called that ever since I got into Yuuei, though, so I thought I finally left that behind. Monoma brought it back and, well... I guess it set me off. I'm sorry..."

And, in a rare, rare case of kindness on Bakugou's part, he put one hand on her shoulder. Not a trace of a smile on his face or in his eyes. But still- awkwardly- kind.

"Lemme know if he does it again." Bakugou muttered gruffly.

His friends looked surprised, blinking and raising their eyebrows, but Mina just nodded and told him she would.

 _I knew you cared, you arrogant twat._

* * *

 **Oof, I think this chapter's my longest yet! I hope it's okay how long they are, I tend to lose track of how much I'm actually writing, lol. But I'm really proud of this, so lemme know what you think! I think you'll reaally like this next one. Think 'Icyhot' ;)**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-DFTM**


	7. Episode 5: FROSTFIRE Part One

**WARNING: Implications of child abuse.**

* * *

The day started out slow.

Izuku woke slowly, somewhere in the middle of the day- fully due to the villain that had kept him up long into the night yesterday. It took him several moments to even consider sitting up in bed, allowing himself to slip blissfully in and out of consciousness, listening to the muted bustle outside his window in the city below. His curtains were drawn, dimming the afternoon light. Across the hall, he heard the rhythmic bumping of the washing machine, and in the corner of his room, the soft hum of the heater vent. In the crook of his elbow, Amai-chan curled up with her green eyes half open, purring and kneading his shoulder with her tiny paws. His laptop screensaver from on his desk on the opposite wall crawled hypnotically across his screen, a colorful shape bouncing from one side of the screen to the next, getting closer and closer to hitting the corner and Izuku could've lied in bed all day waiting for it if Ichi hadn't nudged him into wakefulness.

"Hey, Izu-chan," Ichi whispered. "It's two o'clock."

Izuku blinked hard, processing. "What?"

"I know. What a night." Ichi agreed sympathetically, yawning and stretching like a cat. "I'd say it kept you out until... seven?"

"PM?"

"AM."

"Ooh, _oof_." Izuku rolled onto his back, causing Amai-chan to flop against his neck, and looked up at the ceiling, tracing shapes in the wood with his eyes. "I don't remember half of it."

Ichi made another sympathetic noise. "At least today's a Sunday. No plans."

 _Thank heavens._ It would have been a nightmare to miss school due to oversleeping. For starters, he wouldn't hear the end of it from his mother- she would probably have come to the conclusion he was out all night at some rebellious teenage party or something. It was a miracle she hadn't barged in to wake him up much earlier.

But hey. It was like Ichi said. It was a Sunday. Lazy day.

"Let's go eat." Izuku sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm starving."

* * *

Katsuki was exhausted. He'd been up literally _all night long_ and the _minute_ he swung back into his bedroom window and detransformed, his mother barged into his room with the happy news that it was seven-thirty and time to get up for the day!

He protested. And got a whack over the head.

So now he was doing basic household chores, grumbling complaints and rubbing at the bags under his eyes, and every so often he'd purposefully jostle the pocket Boomi was snoring in, because if _Katsuki_ wasn't allowed to rest, then neither was that little brat.

As Katsuki pulled another warm load of clothes from the dryer, he couldn't help but stop for a moment to hold it in his arms, relishing the wonderful and cozy heat that tempted him to stick his whole head in the machine and just take a nap. He was slowly, slowly starting to forget the encounter with the villain last night with every extra second he dozed off, and as weird as it sounded, Katsuki really, _really_ didn't want to do that.

Because as sucky as that stupid fight was, he at least got _something_ good out of it.

He smiled at the thought of it. By now he was actively lying on top of the laundry basket, burying his face in a few warm shirts, and Boomi crawled out of his pocket to call him out on it.

"Wakey wakey, cow juice and high-fructose-corn-syrup flakeys, you great big hypocrite." Boomi complained. "If you can't rest, neither can I? If I can't rest, neither can you."

"I should write it down." Katsuki murmured, distracted.

Boomi sighed. "Ohh great. This is about your _precious partner_ again."

"It was great."

"It last like five minutes."

"And it was _great_!" Katsuki shifted his face to look at his kwami. Boomi looked like he really couldn't care less, but humored him with a tight smile nonetheless.

"Whatever you say." The little wolf said.

* * *

Izuku had flopped to sleep still decked out in jeans and a t-shirt, so he changed into some more comfortable sweats and tied on his robe before going out into the kitchen. His mother was doing the dishes when he came in. When he stepped up beside her to get a bowl from the cupboard, she stood on her tiptoes and stole a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You slept late." She remarked.

"I know. Sorry." He pulled out a chair and looked across into the living room, where he just noticed the TV was on, switched to the news. "Hey, can I turn the match on in half an hour? Endeavor will be on."

"Sure. Just let me see this real quick."

Izuku picked up on the newswoman's words just as he poured himself a cup of orange juice. He looked up at the broadcast to see a story going on about Rabbit and the Lone Wolf's big fight last night. Curious, he paid attention.

" _The city of Tokyo once again has Rabbit and the Lone Wolf to thank as they drew in the character called 'Backdraft', who had been, up until seven o'clock in the morning, threatening to submerge the city in water. Thanks to our Symbol of Hope, any damage to the city has been restored._ "

"I was held out until midnight due to that psychopath!" His mom muttered, pulling a chair out next to Izuku. "That's why I wasn't home from work until later."

Izuku responded with a quiet 'oh'- he couldn't say much else, considering he hadn't even been home when she came back- before looking back at the TV. He nearly spit out his drink.

The picture presented was of him and Lone. He remembered this- this was when the crack of dawn was just beginning to bring blue light to the sky, and Izuku, overcome with exhaustion, had fallen right down to his knees to catch his breath. Lone had knelt down next to him, laughing loudly and trying to get him back up. He'd tugged on Izuku's arm, and Izuku had unwittingly fell forward into his arms and buried his face in his partner's neck, too tired to really know what he was doing until he suddenly jerked awake five whole minutes later. It was really embarrassing, but of course Lone didn't seem to mind at all- quite the opposite. At least no one had seen, right?

Wrong! Apparently it'd been caught on camera!

" _Despite the intense battle, witnesses are still touched at the sight of our two heroes sharing an affectionate moment. With how hard they work to keep us all safe, who can blame them if they let slip a little PDA?_ "

Before he could stop himself, Izuku had already mumbled aloud, "I don't think that's what it was."

His mother chuckled dryly and gave him a flat look. " _You_ are hardly one to criticize a relationship like theirs, Izuku."

"That's not what I meant," Izuku amended with an equally dry tone. "I _just_ mean, if _I_ had been fighting nonstop from ten pm to seven am, I would have collapsed first chance I got. See, Rabbit looks passed out. Lone just, like, caught him, I guess." He shrugged loosely. "I just don't think it was intentional, that's all."

"Oh ho ho, is that _jealousy_ I hear?"

This time Izuku _did_ spit out his drink. "What!" He coughed, his cheeks flaring up, and his mom laughed aloud.

"Come now, Izuku." His mother clucked, waving her finger knowingly. "Don't think I haven't noticed the way you act when it comes to the Lone Wolf. You get this little smile on your face. You talk about him like you'd trust him with your credit card number- not to mention, you don't call him 'the Wolf' like everyone else. You call him _'Lone'_. That's equal to a first name basis, wouldn't you think?"

"Doesn't mean anything!" Izuku protested in an octave higher than he would've liked, now red as a rose and trying to occupy himself with more orange juice. "Don't read into it!"

"You have a thing for blondes." His mom observed, tapping her chin. "It's just like when you had a crush on Kacchan in middle school-"

" _MOM!_ "

* * *

Meanwhile, several miles away in the heart of Tokyo, a teenage boy rushed briskly through the busy streets, pulling his hood over his face. He was sweating like crazy and shaking like a chihuahua, emotions he couldn't even begin to describe swarming his head like a very unwelcome hive of bees.

 _I can't go back. I can't go back, I just can't._ The voice in his head cried like a baby, but nevertheless he kept a straight face, his dilated, dual-colored irises the only factor that could ever give him away. He turned into a shaded alley, hoping no one could see him.

The walls were tall and tainted with colorful graffiti, made of cracked brick and crumbling concrete, the metal skeletons of the buildings just starting to show through. It was an ominous, shady looking place, certainly. But it was all Todoroki Shouto had left.

This was where Touya had last been seen, so long ago.

Shouto slowly pulled down his hood, still breathing hard, and swallowed. The alley was empty, but he didn't feel alone. Maybe he wasn't alone. But anything was better than what was waiting for _him_ at home.

"...Touya?" He called uncertainly.

No one answered, his nervous question bouncing along the alley walls until he could hear it no more. But honestly, what had he been expecting? Besides, it'd been nigh onto eight years since he last saw Touya. Would he even recognize Shouto? Would Shouto even recognize him?

"Touya?" Shouto called again, a little louder, and at this time he was beginning to feel stupid. Honestly. Just because Touya disappeared here didn't mean one could find him here. He had to be long gone by now.

This was it. Hope was lost. Shouto was truly alone.

"Looking for someone?"

Shouto whirled around, almost slipping on the blacktop as he reached for the switchblade in his back pocket. His adrenaline had already been on high when he arrived, but now it soared, the edges of his vision starting to go blurry with fear. Sweat stuck his hair to his forehead- red and white, very distinctive and frankly, quite dangerous, if any thug recognized who he was and decided to take him hostage.

Imagine that nightmare scenario... demanding ransom from the one person Shouto was so desperate to escape.

The person in the alley with him had shown up from behind, could have easily snuck up on him had they wanted to, especially with how small they were. They stood around three feet away and counting, as Shouto continued to back up, and they held up their hands in calm as Shouto pointed his knife at them. Their blonde buns and bangs were in absolute disarray, casting shadow over the top half of their face while the bottom half was covered in a bandana with the design of a big, sharp grin. Their eyes were red.

"Oh, don't be like that." They giggled, and Shouto recognized the pitch to be female. "It's not nice to threaten a friend."

Shouto swallowed again. "Who are you?"

"Moody, jumpy little rich boy, two different people when split down the middle." The girl held up a finger, probably blocking out Shouto's right and left sides respectively. It was true. Directly down the middle, Shouto's right side was the image of his mother; cool, bright, and cold.

And with fiery red, on his left...

"What a pretty scar," The girl whispered. "Todoroki Shouto."

It would be ridiculous to have asked a question like 'how do you know who I am?', because at this point, everyone knew Todoroki Shouto. He was part of the Todoroki family, with famous lineage. His father was the top pro-wrestler of Japan. His mother was a revered scientist who had done plenty of work in Antarctica.

...At least, formerly.

"What do you want?" Shouto asked, trying to hide his uncertainty.

The girl tittered. "I think I should be asking _you_ that, Shouto-kun."

"I didn't say you could call me that." This wasn't going the way he wanted. All he wanted was to get away from home. All he wanted was to find his brother. But it all seemed so impossible now. Touya just wasn't here. "And that's none of your business." He started to move in a circle around her, back the way he came in, all the while keeping the knife pointed at her. "I'm going now. Don't follow me."

The girl didn't move, but she kept her eyes on him, squinting a little as though she knew something he didn't. She didn't speak again until Shouto was nearly right beside her.

"I know a way to help you find him."

Shouto stopped dead in his tracks.

A shrug, a giggle. They girl's head lolled lazily to the side, eyeing his hesitation with interest. That couldn't be any good. Shouto had learned over many, many years that trust was something you gave _carefully_. Put in the wrong hands, it was a painful weapon, and he learned that the hard way.

But.

"I know a way you could get away from that horrible, horrible man." The girl said, her voice barely a whisper. "To escape. To find the person you lost."

"You... You know Touya?"

She hummed. "I know plenty of people. Plenty of..." She raised her eyebrows. " _influential_ _people_."

"And you can help me find him?" Shouto breathed.

"Not me." She shrugged. "But I know someone who can. And trust me." This time she pulled down her bandana, revealing her grin. Her white, _fanged_ , grin. "He can do a lot more than that."

* * *

Koda's excited, waving hands accompanied by his giant smile was enough to make the whole of Izuku's friend group laugh aloud with him, drawing the attention of the other people in the movie theater, but none of them minded. They were feeling lively, so why not show it?

After the long villain fight last night, all Izuku wanted was some normalcy- what better than an outing with his friends to see Captain Marvel? It was the second day of its release in Japan, Izuku adored superhero movies and traffic was a bit slower on Sunday, so why not?

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, really. He was lying back in bed after the wrestling match when he pulled out his phone with a sudden inquiry of, 'you wanna see a movie?' to the whole group chat. Uraraka was coming, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, Asui, Koda, Jirou- even Iida, which was actually surprising as Iida didn't often go to the movies. But here they were, chatting, letting Iida boss them through the ticket line, looking up at the posters and enjoying each other's company.

"He said he's excited to see the cat." Izuku translated for Koda, and both Asui and Hagakure agreed enthusiastically. Then Uraraka turned to look at Izuku with a big grin on her face.

"Doesn't it sorta look like your new kitty, Deku-kun?"

"Yeah, she's yellow, too. But she's a lot teenier." Izuku held his hands to gesture the size, and the girls of his group- which was most of them- cooed loudly in adoration, with demands of pictures, making plenty of people turn and stare. Izuku flushed a little, bringing out his phone, talking all the while. "Yeah, she gets real wild at night, though. Knocked over my entire Death Star set. I'm telling you, I've adopted an actual demon."

"Fatherhood." Uraraka teased. "Not for everyone."

It was a simple enough declaration, maybe a little weird out of context. But Izuku wouldn't consider it something to cringe at. So when he saw someone do just that a couple feet ahead, he blinked, feeling a bit confused. The person turned to look at him out of the corner of his eye, and at this angle Izuku could just barely see under his blue jacket hood.

It was Todoroki. From class. It was easy to tell because of his dual-colored hair, and most visibly, the horrible red scar over his left eye.

When Todoroki caught him looking, he twitched, his eyebrows narrowing, and jerked away, hiding his face once more. Izuku kept looking at him, still confused, until he was shaken from his stupor by Iida with his big, booming voice.

"Everything alright, Midoriya-kun?" Iida asked, eh, rather loudly- but with the best intentions, of course. "You were disconnecting for a second there!"

"Earth to Midoriya!" Hagakure chirped.

'Ground control!' Koda signed.

Izuku shook his head a little, bringing a smile back regardless of how out of place it felt. "Sorry. Spaced out for a second there." In the back of his mind, he wanted to bring up Todoroki and his weird behavior, but he suppressed the thought because he figured that would probably be rude. It wasn't his business what Todoroki was up to- for starters, aside from being classmates he hardly knew the boy, and Todoroki really didn't like socializing with other people. Not bringing up his name in a conversation was the least Izuku could do.

Their turn came at the ticket counter and everyone paid for their own- except for Uraraka, who finally relented to let Iida pay for hers. It was in everyone's best interest to make sure she didn't spend any of her dwindling money- it really wasn't a problem since five out of seven of them were extremely well-off. She protested, but her friends were adamant.

When the group finally left the theater two hours later, Todoroki was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

It was the walk home that made Shouto wonder.

After the incident in the alleyway, he'd gone to a tea shop, then to the library, then the gym, then to a short hike, and even the movie theater- all just to keep himself busy, to ward away his thoughts, to stay away from home.

Now the movie was over. And Shouto didn't know what to do.

In the back of his mind, all day, the back of his mind; he couldn't help but ponder on the girl's advice. 'Advice'- no, that was just insanity! Her words of encouragement for something that he promised himself he would never do.

A promise that was getting weaker and weaker.

Was that all he was resorted to? Trust worn so thin that he couldn't even make promises to himself that he wouldn't break? He couldn't do this. He _shouldn't_ do this. It should take so much more to make him even _consider_ doing something like this.

And yet...

 _Think about it._ The girl had told him, her voice a constant whisper in his head. _Just think about it, Todoroki Shouto._

So here he was. Thinking about it.

 _Consider the consequences,_ He reasoned with himself. _You could hurt someone you care about. Fuyumi, Natsuo- or Mom, even. Not to mention Rabbit and the Wolf. They're really good at what they do. They're an unstoppable team; they'd take care of you and you'd be right back where you started, powerless and left to deal with... with..._

He didn't even want to think about what his father would do. Imagine the headlines after that; _Pro-wrestler Todoroki 'Endeavor' Enji's family name tainted by akumatized son._ Endeavor would receive all the unwanted publicity, and then Shouto would get the punishment behind closed doors.

He couldn't do this. It scared him.

 _Just think about it, Todoroki Shouto._

He shouldn't do this. It wasn't right.

 _Just think about it._

* * *

Monday morning, Izuku arrived at school with Iida and Uraraka, talking about the movie they saw last night. Homeroom was already in a bit of disarray, with Kacchan and his friends arguing loudly about whether Jump Force was as good as Smash Brothers (he must be in a really good mood for some reason if he's actually talking with his friends- and about video games no less!) and Tokoyami showing off his new raven jewelry, chatting about his band to whoever would listen. Hagakure was applying makeup in a handheld mirror, Koda was teaching Jirou some sign, Ojiro was excitedly shoving a clipboard poll in people's faces about whether or not Yuuei should install a martial arts program. It was loud, but it felt genuine, the atmosphere of a bunch of lively teenagers interacting as friends.

Except for one person, sitting at the back.

Izuku felt his conversation with Uraraka and Iida trail off as he slowed, not taking his eyes from Todoroki at the back of the classroom. It was a common occurrence to see the boy so disconnected from the rest of them, quiet and brooding like he'd just left a funeral. The only person he ever interacted with was Yaoyorozu, but that was only because she said they knew each other since middle school. And even then, he'd never properly talked to her. They just worked efficiently together as partners. That was it.

So what, then? Why did it matter that Todoroki was such an introvert? Why did it matter so much, and why did it matter _now_?

Izuku's sixth sense was tingling like crazy. Something was wrong.

"Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku turned back to Iida, still a little unfocused. "Hm?"

Iida's brow was furrowed, and Uraraka was giving him a little smile. It occurred to him that his friends might've tried to grab his attention several times before this, failing because Izuku had been focusing so hard on Todoroki. He felt a little color filter into his cheeks. How embarrassing.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Were you saying something?"

Uraraka answered with another question. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

This was a bit of a surprise. "Huh?"

"Todoroki." Uraraka pressed, her smile widening. "You were staring at him."

"Oh. Yeah." Was it possible Uraraka caught onto Izuku's concern? Could she feel it too? But how was he supposed to go talk to him about that? Especially since Todoroki really didn't like social interaction. "But I don't know what to say?"

By now Iida was smiling as well, _broadly_ , catching onto something Izuku didn't understand. He gave Izuku a light shove in Todoroki's direction. "Whatever your heart tells you to say."

Yeah, that was specific. Also, why did they look so happy? Like they were sharing some inside joke? Izuku's paranoia was starting to grow now, his sixth sense buzzing like crazy because _something is wrong something is wrong something is wrong_ \- this was no time to be smiling! Nevertheless, he gave a little nod, and started off toward the boy in the back.

Todoroki looked up immediately, so fast you'd think Izuku was trying to sneak up on him. The buzzing jumped to a sharp pull, stopping Izuku in his tracks. Ichi squirmed in Izuku's blazer pocket and Izuku wasn't feeling too hot either. Todoroki's eyes were so _cold_. Intimidating. Izuku was tempted to turn right on his heel and walk away.

Instead he gave him a nervous smile. A little wave. "Uh. Hi."

Todoroki cast his eyes down again.

 _Is he ignoring me?_ Izuku's sixth sense made his blood uncomfortably cold- or was it the ice in Todoroki's gaze? He didn't like the way he was feeling. He wished there was some way to pinpoint what was making him so _fidgety_.

He stared unintentionally hard at Todoroki, examining him uncertainly and trying to find something, anything, that felt off about him. Then he noticed.

Todoroki was writing with his left hand. Todoroki was not left handed.

"Is there a reason you're writing with your left hand," Izuku spoke without thinking. "Todoroki-kun?"

Todoroki stopped. He didn't look up.

"Mind your own business." His voice was low.

Izuku stared again, and this time noticed something he hadn't before. Around Todoroki's right wrist was a bit of a purple color. It was splotchy, and mostly hidden by the cuffs of the boy's sleeves. But it couldn't hide from Izuku's persistent eye.

"You're bruised." He whispered. "Around the wrist. Are you oka-?"

 _Snap!_ Todoroki's pencil lead broke, abruptly cutting Izuku off with surprise. The boy didn't look up at him, but Izuku could still feel the cold, cold air of unwelcome.

"Class is about to start." Todoroki said coolly. "You should go sit down."

A clear dismissal. This usually intimidated Izuku, but now he wasn't even thinking anymore. Something was wrong. Something was _wrong_.

"I'm worried about you." He hadn't meant to say it aloud.

This time, Todoroki did look up, and his expression was very, very dark. Izuku's sixth sense shrieked, but he did not take a step back, no matter how much he wanted to.

"What the hell is your problem?" Todoroki growled.

Izuku never got to reply. The sudden stomps of Aizawa-sensei entering the room drew him from his focus, quieted the ringing in his ears, and his teacher gave a quick loud order for all students to return to their seats.

With one last, earnest look into Todoroki's eyes, Izuku obeyed.

* * *

"Hey, did you see Midoriya talking to Todoroki this morning?" Kirishima asked without warning during lunch.

Katsuki stopped chewing, irked by the sudden announcement of his arch-nemesis's name. "Why do you care?"

"Yeah, Ei," Ashido snorted, stabbing her steamed veggies with her fork. "Don't you know _Kacchan_ can't stand _Deku_?"

"Don't call me that!" Katsuki grabbed a pinch of pepper and threw it into Ashido food, making her squeal in laughter. He turned back to Kirishima. "And what does it matter what Deku does? I don't give a crap about him or that half and half moron."

Kirishima shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Not that big of a deal, whatever." He leaned forward with a smile. "Except that I heard from Uraraka that Midoriya was giving him quite the... _Look_."

Katsuki chewed his food and swallowed. "Meaning?"

But he seemed to be missing out on something. The rest of his friends' eyes widened to the size of saucers and Ashido even squeaked into her hands. They looked like Kirishima just told them something scandalous.

"But _nobody_ can warm up to Todoroki!" Sero mused. "How's he even gonna make that work?"

"Oh, come on." Kaminari chuckled. "You know Midoriya. He could thaw Antarctica with that smile- Todoroki doesn't stand a chance."

"Am I missing something?" Katsuki interrupted irritably.

Kirishima groaned. "Dude, you're so _thick_.."

"I can't believe I tried to hook him up with _Tsu_!" Ashido cried. "I'm an idiot!"

"Yeah, we already knew that," Sero teased. "Well, props to him if he thinks he can get Todoroki. I have a feeling he's gonna need some luck."

This was all going so fast. Katsuki nearly choked on his next mouthful of food trying to swallow it fast enough. "Wai-wai-wait- Deku and _Todoroki_?!"

" _Now_ he's out of the slow lane." Kaminari snorted. Katsuki hit him hard on the shoulder.

Deku and Todoroki.

For some reason, that really, really bugged him.

* * *

Shouto was feeling sick to his stomach.

 _Don't you dare tell another soul. Don't you dare tell another soul._ His father's voice was cutting through his head, his warning white hot and seared into his brain. His family was at risk- his brother and sister, his mother. He couldn't risk friends, he couldn't risk relationships or anything. They're just one more factor, one more thing his father can hurt. He couldn't risk _anyone_ getting close to him, in fear that they'll find out.

And now this curly haired _idiot_ was starting to notice things.

 _Can't let him find out. Can't let him find out._ Because that just puts him in danger, too. And no matter how snoopy this kid was, he didn't deserve the consequences that were sure to befall him if he kept this up.

 _I wish Touya would come back._

Not home. Just back. Back to Shouto, to Fuyumi and Natsuo and Mom. To help them. Or better yet, to take them away from here. To wherever he's living now, somewhere off the map where Todoroki Enji would never ever find them again.

And then-

 _I can help you find him._

-the girl's words came back, and Shouto stopped walking the corridors of Yuuei, halted in his tracks.

He _could_ find Touya. He could find his brother, somewhere out there, lost under the sun. He could take Fuyumi, Natsuo and his mom- find Touya. Be a family again. He _could_.

This was a bad idea.

 _What does her big boss need?_ Shouto mused. _A couple of jewels? No one's been able to take them before. But if I can do it..._

It was so simple. But it wouldn't be easy. Then again, nothing was easy for Shouto anymore.

 _Get angry. Get pissed._ The girl had whispered. _And then let the butterfly win._

* * *

It was fourth hour and Todoroki still hadn't come back to class.

Izuku tossed his gaze to the back of the classroom yet again, to Todoroki's empty seat. Tokoyami glanced up at him from his place in front of the seat, giving the smallest of shrugs before returning to his work. Yaoyorozu was stealing glances at the seat as well, but none to the obvious extent Izuku was.

Stiff with concern, Izuku found it hard to concentrate on his work. The classroom was incredibly quiet, with the only noises being the faint ticking of the clock in the corner and the thin scratching of pencils on paper. He looked around the room, wondering if anyone else could feel the nervous buzzing under his skin.

Something was _wrong_.

 _Tap_. Izuku twitched at the patting on his shoulder, turning his head a little to see Mineta leaning up from behind. He was holding a folded piece of paper under Izuku's nose, so he took it. Mineta fell back into his seat with an almost audible smirk.

Izuku unfolded the paper. There, written in terrible handwriting;

 _Lookin for your boyfriend?_

A breathy snicker from behind. Izuku sighed and crumbled up the paper, tossing it behind him and feeling a rush of satisfaction to hear it bounce off Mineta's head. Then he stood up, attracting the attention of most of the class as he left his seat and made his way toward the door.

" _Midoriya_." Someone hissed, but Izuku ignored them. Aizawa was taking a nap, so at this point, nothing was stopping him.

Something was wrong, and he had to find Todoroki.

* * *

It was fifteen minutes after Deku left the classroom- that crazy moron- before the overspeaker crackled to life.

" _We'd like to request all staff to acknowledge a code orange. Code orange. Students are not to leave school grounds until the issue is resolved. Thank you!_ "

Katsuki twitched and looked up from his test. Principal Nedzu sounded just as easy-daisy as he always did, but any idiot could tell that the message meant something was wrong. What the heck was going _on_ today?

"What's a code orange?" He heard Sero ask quietly.

Ponytail answered from the back of the class, leaning forward while everyone else turned to look at her. "I think it has something to do with akumatized villains. The school started installing defense programs due to all the attacks from within."

Akumas? Crap. And Katsuki wasn't even done with his test yet. He should transform, then; do a patrol through the city. Rabbit was probably already out there.

"That's a good idea!" Mineta chirped. "It's about time they started taking safety measures for us students!"

"Right!" Kaminari agreed heartily. "As long as none of us leave school grounds, we'll be just fine!"

Well, it's now or never. Katsuki stood up. "Villain or not, I gotta pee."

"Wait!" Kirishima stood up as well, his eyes wide. "We shouldn't be wandering around by ourselves! We should use the buddy system, that way there's safety in numbers!"

The classroom rumbled with agreement. Katsuki felt his heart sink.

* * *

Izuku left the premises just in time for the school to announce a lockdown. The gates closed and the locks slid, trapping the student outside unbeknownst to everyone within. Izuku turned around to touch the wall in shock. This had never happened before. It almost felt dangerous.

 _Who are you kidding?_ He thought with a swallow. _You're Rabbit, the Symbol of Hope. Danger is your middle name. Stop worrying and get going._

Because there was only one reason the school would go into lockdown at this particular time, while Izuku was vibrating with nervous energy and squirming with the cry of his sixth sense.

He wasted no time. Turning around, he ran back toward the city, flying past confused passerbys, weaving past them and jumping over walked dogs, causing beeping cars to swerve away from him when he bolted across the road, not even attempting to wait for the crosswalk to open. People yelled out in annoyance and confusion to see a kid in a Yuuei uniform causing such a scene. It vaguely occurred to him he'd be hearing about this in school tomorrow. But right now, that was the least of his priorities.

He kept running, feeling the crackle of Ichi's green energy inside him. He had to transform, but there was something he needed to see.

Tokyo Square opened up in front of him as he took a mean turn, finally slowing to a hard trot and stopping, panting, to look around the area. By any other means, it was a normal weekday- ads on the billboards, signs blinking in welcome, lights flashing, people buzzing and rushing about. But the air was cold- colder than the summer should've given, getting colder by the second. The pedestrians were beginning to notice it too, looking around to find the source of it, but Izuku didn't need to. Because his sixth sense had already told him to look up.

There, on the top of a restaurant, looking down at the people below- who hadn't even noticed him yet, for heaven's sake- was Todoroki Shouto. And he was most definitely akumatized.

"Todoroki-kun." Izuku whispered aloud in shock, and his classmate heard him. From atop the restaurant, Todoroki's head snapped downward and to the side, staring directly at Izuku in the massive crowd, and Izuku felt his stomach drop.

His classmate didn't look like the quiet kid in the back of the classroom anymore. He stood tall now, shoulders squared and gloved fists clenched, his jaw set tight and stiff. He was donned in royal blue, a uniform that buttoned all the way up to his neck and tucked into his tall white boots. A thick belt wrapped around his waist and came up over his shoulders, holding little bottles of something. His dual-colored hair was wild and stuck up in odd places, and beneath it, he wore a mask. A mask that only covered the left half of his face, like the Phantom of the Opera, the string coming over his nose like one of an eye patch. On the white mask was an eerie hole for his eye, a glowing blue shining from within the darkness.

He was a villain now. And he certainly looked the part.

As Todoroki recognized him- or seemed to, from the flash in his eye- he slowly frowned, looking colder than Izuku had ever seen him before. With that, the temperature dropped even further. Izuku shivered, eyes wide, every instinct screaming at him to _do something._

By now, people were finally starting to notice the boy on the restaurant roof. They stopped, gasped, pointed. And now Todoroki moved.

With one deft leap, he jumped from the restaurant toward a billboard, landing on it with a loud _crunch_ and clinging to it's flat surface somehow. As he leaped from the billboard to another rooftop, Izuku saw just how; Todoroki was bearing claws. His power- did it include claws? He didn't look beastlike, he couldn't be...

"Izu-chan!" A sudden cry alerted him and he looked down as Ichi poked out of his pocket, eyes wild. "Izu-chan, you have to transform!"

Izuku swallowed and nodded, turning on his heel before _CRACK_! Todoroki landed right in front of him on the road, leaving a massive crater and throwing hundreds of people into scatter. Izuku jumped back as Todoroki straightened up, his left eye smoldering bright blue in it's little eyehole, and his right a cold, stone gray. His hands were tensed and clawed and that's when Izuku noticed the sharp spikes on his fingers- they weren't regular claws. They were made of _ice_.

"Midoriya Izuku." He spoke, his voice distorted as though spoken through several channels. "You just can't mind your own business, can you?"

Izuku held up his hands, not daring to turn and run. "Todoroki," He began slowly, keeping his voice level despite the screaming all around. "Just calm down. We can work through this. We can get the butterfly out of you. Please. Just let me-"

"'Get the butterfly out'?" Todoroki interrupted, cutting Izuku clean off with his harsh voice. It seemed to make him angry- disgusted even. " _Why would I want that_?"

Izuku felt any next words die on his tongue. _What?_

"My Sensei." Todoroki whispered. "My Sensei promised me I could find him. I can find all of them and take them somewhere far away where we can be together in safety and _you_." He took a hard step forward, his voice rising, and it took everything in Izuku's willpower to hold still. " _You would dare to take that away_?!"

Izuku blanched. Sensei? Who was Sensei? His mind raced a million miles an hour but he had to keep talking, he had to mend this _right now_. "I..." He cleared his throat. "Look, Todoroki, I understand what he must have told you-"

" _No_ \- No no no, you know _nothing_." Todoroki spat savagely, cutting Izuku off again and causing the latter to flinch back. "You have the _audacity_ to say you _understand_?! You would never, ever _ever_ understand!"

Izuku's voice shook. "You-You're right! I don't understand!" He was practically pleading. " But I _want_ to understand! I want to help you! Just let me-!"

Todoroki shook his head, and Izuku trailed off.

"No." The boy growled. "I've made my choice. And if you want to stand in my way, then you'll burn with him."

 _Him?_ Izuku thought, but suddenly, the temperature changed. As quickly as it became cold, heat radiated outward like a bonfire, and Todoroki's entire left side of his body began to glow. His left eye burned from blue to a molten red under the mask and then flames. Flames began to burst forth from his body, crackling high and extremely hot as though the boy had been drenched in gasoline and his arm was extended right toward Izuku, the claws on his fingers melting away like they were never there. He meant to burn him. _Badly_.

People in the square screamed and ran at this display of power and Izuku reacted, jumping back, but Ichi's reserves weren't anywhere near the speed that Todoroki harnessed now, fire lunging toward him at unbelievable speeds, hot and rabid and Izuku was going to die-!

 _CRASH!_

Something fell right on top of Todoroki, cutting off the fire. It was an entire lamppost, thick and tall, broken at the base.

Someone had come to Izuku's rescue.

But rather than looking around to find his savior, he jerked into action and didn't waste as second of his newly bought time. He turned tail and bolted, sweating like crazy because _hooolly moly I almost just got incernerated a second ago oohhh my gosh I'm going to faint I'm going to faint-_

Whatever was going on with Todoroki, whatever had happened to him to make him turn villain and whatever this... Sensei... told him... he definitely needed the Symbol of Hope right now.

* * *

Todoroki Shouto renounced his name. It was a curse. A title to a legacy he never wanted. It was a connection to his father as evident as the red in his hair, the blue of his eye, the scar on his face. So from now on, he was no longer the boy that was Todoroki Shouto. Todoroki Shouto was a weakling, a coward. He would burn along with his father, falling to ashes, never to be surfaced again and from then on, Todoroki Shouto would be nothing but a bad memory.

From now on, he was Frostfire. The deliverer of justice. The man who would reunite his family again, and escape somewhere far away to be with them in safety and peace. And if he had to bring consequence to the ones who stood in his way, he would do it. If he had to bring down armies, break down walls and raze the earth, cut down every building in this forsaken city for the sake of his family, then _he would do it_.

And if he had to bring this strange new man the jewels of Rabbit and the Lone Wolf to accomplish this, then he would track down those miserable little clowns in fursuits and tear it from them. Even if he had to cut off the limb that held them.

He wondered wistfully how Sensei would like the golden watch still attached to the Lone Wolf's dismembered arm, or the diamond choker still latched around Rabbit's severed neck.

 _Fantastic._ Sensei whispered in his head. _That would please me greatly, Frostfire... my son._

His son.

Frostfire wouldn't mind that at all.

* * *

 **Ooof finally! Part one of Frostfire! This one was hard. Anyway, this is the part where I start introducing the LOV- things are going to get wild from here on out, so buckle up!**

 **Also, I just saw Avengers Endgame the other night! Who saw it too?! IT WAS FREAKIN AMAZING and also gave me the bursts of inspiration to finally finish this chapter! Three hours of absolute** ** _yes_** **. Also, have you all seen Captain Marvel and would you mind extremely** ** _minor_** **spoilers in the next chapter? I wanted to get the okay from you guys before I threw them in there.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay tuned for part two!**


	8. ANNOUNCEMENT

Oh heck. Okay, I won't sugarcoat it; I have a kinda crappy announcement.

Due to a few crazy occurrences in real life, I may not be able to update this story for a h o t second. Legit I will be starved of internet for a few months and I will be very busy.

So, at best, I'll be getting back on schedule in two, two and a half months. At the very worst, I won't be till mid-October. (I'm not a very happy camper on that note.)

I'm sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, guys. :( I'll be back as quick as possible. I'm having too much fun writing this.

I'll be back! Thank you for reading!!


	9. Episode 6: FROSTFIRE Part Two

It was cold inside the hospital room.

Not that Todoroki Rei minded much. After all, she'd worked in much colder environments before. Arctic temperatures tended to desensitize one to that kind of thing.

 _Really makes a girl miss the south pole sometimes._

At the moment she was sitting at the window, wrapped in one of the heated blankets the nurses were always handing her. As though she'd find comfort in the warmth.

Athough if she were being honest... after Enji, she didn't think she'd ever find much pleasure in warmth ever again.

Cherry blossoms were falling from the trees outside, settling on the sill of the window. It was that time of year again- late spring. Summer vacation would soon follow. How lovely would it be if her children visited her...

If _Shouto_ visited...

Rei felt her heart ache at the mere thought of her youngest son. It was strange to think it'd been years since she'd spoken to him, face to face. Certain... circumstances, prevented her son from coming around in the first place, but even if Enji _didn't_ have such an iron fist would Shouto even _want_ to see her face? After what she did to him?

It was bittersweet to fantasize her little boy here in the room with her, because when she did, all she saw was that scar. That scar, and the very look he gave her so long ago- of panic, and betrayal. All she could hear was his little baby voice, and his pained question; _"Why?"_

 _Perhaps it would be best for Shouto to keep his distance_ , Rei thought sadly, stroking her thumb across the lumpy fabric of the blanket. More often than not, when she closed her eyes, she could pretend it was her baby's cheek. It was the best she had, after all; it would probably be such a long time before she saw Shouto face to face again.

She sighed. Eyes closed, she didn't even notice the plume of smoke that accompanied it.

* * *

Every single entrance to the prestigious Yuuei Private Academy was sealed shut. Deadlocked magnetically, and the stupid material too thick to even crack out of costume.

Katsuki knew. He'd tried.

And of course even _that_ , using Boomi's _reserves_ , was time he had very limited of. Security had outright doubled since the lockdown, and with the buddy system religiously upheld by everyone in his class, there was no possible way, no _feasible_ way, he could transform.

Katsuki was very effectively... trapped.

"Could you have imagined they'd _finally_ install something as brilliant as saferooms?" One of Deku's dumb friends was saying cheerfully as they were neatly filed through the hallway. Katsuki could barely hear her through all the apathetic cotton stuck in his head. (Yeah, panic was a _little_ bit of a thing right now- what of it?) "It's about time! How many of us have been akumatized by now?"

"Too many." Deku's big square friend agreed in a low voice, before popping right back up to yell in his very square voice, "KEEP TOGETHER NOW! REST ASSURED THAT WE WILL STAY OUT OF HARM'S WAY GRANTED WE STAY IN ORDER!"

"He really shouldn't shout." Sero grumbled from behind Katsuki. "Bet the akuma heard him all the way across Japan."

"Who's to say they're not inside the school?" Jirou brought up a very good point.

Kirishima cleared his throat. "Well! It's safe to assume the lockdown is to keep the akuma _out_."

Now Katsuki spoke. "Or to keep them in." He turned to look his friends in the eye. "The whole school sealed like a fortress and they're still corralling us into saferooms, eh?"

His idiots' faces started to go pale, and Katsuki looked forward again, feeling his extremities start to tense up, grim.

It didn't seem the Lone Wolf would be hunting today.

* * *

 _Not even a voicemail._ Lone would be in for quite a shock when he finally checked his missed calls, wherever he was.

 _Passed out somewhere?_ Izuku couldn't help the dread biting at his fingertips when he thought about it. He clicked a button on his harp and the communication device folded itself away. _Frozen solid? Turned to ash?_ Had Todoroki gotten to him before Izuku even had the chance?

Or, on the off chance Lone had an actual, respectable civilian life, maybe he was genuinely just _busy_.

 _Press X for doubt._ Despite his dread, Izuku could outright chuckle at the thought of that.

But regardless of that, of any of that, Izuku was still stuck in the predicament that he could not get in contact with Lone at all. Meaning he, Deku in a bunny costume, currently perched atop the tallest building in Japan and at a _complete_ loss for what to do next, had the responsibility of facing this villain alone.

You know. If he could even _find_ him.

 _Ooooh-kay._ Izuku chewed on his lip, feeling helpless as he scanned the map of streets directly below him. He'd never actually faced the problem of _losing_ a villain before. They were supposed to actively seek out Rabbit and the Lone Wolf- so where was Frostfire?

 _Everyone has an ulterior motive. They always do._ But the Miraculouses of Japan's heroes were always more important, or they always made it seem that way. They always came after Rabbit and the Lone Wolf before anything else.

So what was so important to Todoroki that he went against the grain? What was he after?

 _"My Sensei promised me I could find him."_ Todoroki had said. _"I can find all of them and take them somewhere far away where we can be together in safety."_

"Who are you looking for," Izuku whispered. "Todoroki Shouto?"

* * *

Frostfire was looking for solace.

Right now, as he paced the corridors of the Nogareru University, he searched for the solace he desperately craved, watching in disgust as students scrambled to get away, running from the streams of ice that shot from Frostfire's frame, the smoldering blue of his eye under his mask growing brighter as he did. None of these pathetic people could fill the hole in his heart... so where was the one who could?

He knew he was here. He'd burn this whole building down to find him, even if it took all night-!

 _Frostfire._ The voice in his head, ever so persistent, cut sharply through his searching. _The clock is ticking. Remember your end of the bargain, my son._

Among the sound of screams and creaking ice, Frostfire offered a laugh, making the voice in his head hesitate. The students of the university who remained in earshot sacrificed precious seconds to be taken aback. Pitiful.

"You ask for _jewels_!" Frostfire shouted, spreading his hands. His fingertips sparked with flame. " _IT CAN WAIT_!"

The scene in front of him suddenly seemed to slow. A direct telepathic conversation between his sensei and him. "My priorities are in place, Sensei, and you ask for _jewels_." A scoff, like a scorn. "As though the 'miraculous' jewelry of two clowns in cosplay are worth more than a _suffering child's flesh and blood_!" He practically screamed out that last part- but it was closely followed by one much more genuine as an earsplitting headache suddenly halted his icy display and threw him to his knees.

Frostfire was no stranger to pain. As Shouto he'd endured much more than headaches and ringing in the ears. But that wasn't the worst of it. Underneath his mask, his scar burned anew- as though forging itself on his face for the first time. It was pain that didn't deserve to be remembered. It wasn't fair. It was not _fair_.

 _These jewels,_ The voice began again, deadly calm, and reverberating through his head like a drum. _Are worth more than a thousand suffering children. Your family's safety is the very least I can guarantee if you do indeed succeed to bring them to me._ _Do not forget your bargain, Frostfire, or I will return you once more, powerless, to that man you dare not call father._

"Never." Frostfire gasped immediately, fingernails digging into his scalp. "The jewels are yours. The-The second I find my brother, I'll look. I promise."

 _Good._ Sensei murmured. _Very good._

"Hey!"

Frostfire whirled on the voice, hands held aloft and alight with flame. But who he saw was just who he'd been dying to see. His mouth curved into a grateful smile. His voice was barely a breath.

"Nii-san."

Todoroki Natsuo held his hands up as well, this time in surrender. He stood among a group of other people his age, all shocked and nervous at his sudden approach. A hundred emotions flickered across his face- all sad, worried, and even nauseous.

"Hey. Shouto. Ototo." Natsuo spoke slowly, as though any faster would set him off. His wobbly smile was insincere. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

Frostfire agreed. They were all going to be just fine.

He threw his hand and froze his brother solid.

* * *

Boomi was clearly trying to get his attention. He was making little "psssst" sounds. And if that weren't enough, he was also digging his stupid little claws into the back of Katsuki's neck.

Tucking himself carefully into a desk at the corner of the saferoom (which was a regular classroom that had been discreetly reinforced with thicker walls and magnetic locks) Katsuki also discreetly whapped the back of his neck, making his kwami squeak with anger. He turned to the wall when Boomi whisked to the inner flap of his jacket, to speak to him face to face.

"You have fourteen missed calls." Boomi said flatly.

" _Missed calls_?!" Well, that was unexpected. He instinctively reached for the phone in his pocket, but Boomi groaned.

"Not _that_ phone." He huffed, clearly exasperated. Then suddenly, he zipped into Katsuki's bracelet. The bracelet glowed and Katsuki felt his heart drop straight into his stomach and he jerked to see if anyone was watching- what was Boomi _thinking_ transforming right now in the middle of the open?! They'd be discovered, wasn't that the one thing he was always lecturing him _not to do_...?!

Katsuki waited, breath stuck in his lungs.

...No transformation.

Hesitant, Katsuki looked back down at his bracelet. Around his wrist, it shone gold, just as it always did when he transformed. But the rest of him stayed civilian.

 _Oooh-kay_. Katsuki squinted at the bracelet, and he gave it an experimental tap with his finger. Instantly, a little blue hologram, very small and discreet, jumped out at him- a screen, exactly like that of the communication device on his baton. Katsuki twitched a bit, but he was finally catching on.

 _"Just like an Apple watch."_ He marveled. His lungs deflated at last. _Brilliant_. Why hadn't Boomi told him about this earlier? Dumb dog.

A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed his classmates and teachers were still not paying attention, all talking and making light chaos as usual. He turned back to the hologram, scrolling through his calls. Yikes, Boomi was right, he missed fourteen from Rabbit. Must be a pretty wack villain if he was this persistent for his help. He propped his elbow on the desk, bracelet right up to his ear, and pretended to be occupied on his phone as he listened to one of the voicemails.

 _"Todoroki Shouto's been akumatized."_ Rabbit sounded all business, but Katsuki could hear the restlessness beneath it. Classic Rabbit. _"Fire and ice. Really strong and_ really _pissed off. Could use your help, I uh, might have lost track of him. Really, be careful. He could be anywhere. Call me back."_

Katsuki's eyebrows narrowed, and he brought the bracelet away. Boomi zipped back out and hid in his jacket again.

"You need to help Rabbit." Boomi said immediately.

Katsuki scoffed, indignant. "You think I don't _know_ that? In case you haven't realized, I'm a little _trapped_ at the moment. Besides, the dude's off the map right now- I can't take any sudden risks in case he's watching-"

"Don't worry about any of that." Boomi interrupted. "You can help from here. Call Rabbit back."

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

Boomi pointed at Katsuki's phone.

"Todoroki uses social media, right?"

* * *

Izuku darted up and down the halls of Nogareru University, quickly locating the rest of the students who'd been frozen inside classrooms or to the floor. They looked on him with visible relief when he approached them, his words giving them hope when he said what he always did to people in distress- " _Everything is okay. I'm here now._ "

There were police all swarmed at the front of the school, taking care of the victims Izuku swept out to them little by little. Some were given blankets and hot drinks to fight off the beginnings of frostbite, but other than that, not many injuries were accounted for. Frostfire's intention didn't seem to be to cause casualties- he hadn't even used his fire.

 _So why did he attack?_ Izuku thought. _What was his motive?_

He got his answer when interrogating the police. One of them, a man in a tall brown coat and hat, stepped forward, eager to speak to him. He looked like some sort of detective.

"According to witnesses, Frostfire didn't leave alone." He said, pulling up a picture on his tablet. He turned the screen to Rabbit, and pointed out a young man with snowy-white hair and a charming smile, caught in the middle of a football championship. Izuku recognized him immediately, but still allowed the detective to give context. "Todoroki Natsuo, one of the more 'revered' students here. Full ride with scholarships, 4.0 GPA, majoring in psychology. Second year on the football team. His friends say he was immediately frozen on sight and then taken away without any other action. It was as though the villain were looking for Todoroki specifically."

"He was." Izuku blurted suddenly, feeling a light bulb pop up over his head when he remembered events earlier that day- He'd found himself at the Musutafu hospital, looking over the case of a missing patient. Todoroki Rei. _The mother_.

 _"I can find all of them and take them somewhere far away where we can be together in safety."_

Frostfire was gathering his family.

 _How many members in the Todoroki family?_ Izuku knew this, he'd done lots of digging on Endeavor. Endeavor had a wife and _three kids_. Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto. Rei was in the hospital for delirium, poor woman. Shouto attended Yuuei and Natsuo was here at Nogareru; only the best for the Todorokis. So if Izuku was right, the next on the list would be-

"What can you tell me about Todoroki Fuyumi?"

Apparently the detective had kept talking, and he came to an abrupt stop as Izuku interrupted him. He stammered a little. "We-Well, as far as I know, she's a schoolteacher and behavioral counselor at Soumei Junior High."

"Great." Izuku whirled on a toe, starting off toward the road. And was stopped by the buzz of his harp. Taken aback, he quickly examined his harp, feeling his spirits rise when he recognized the Lone Wolf's dumb little call icon.

* * *

 _"Lone."_ Rabbit sounded releived, which was pretty flattering. Katsuki grinned in spite of himself, then forcefully dropped it in case anyone was looking. His bracelet was up by his ear again, and he was looking down at his phone. It should be casual enough to keep people from thinking him suspicious. _"Where are you? I've finally got some information about Frostfire."_

"So do I." He kept his voice low.

 _"Fantastic. Meet me at Soumei Junior High. There's a chance-"_

"I can't."

Rabbit paused. _"...Why?"_

Katsuki swallowed. This was awkward. "I'm... in a predicament. See, I'm not actually... _in costume._ "

Katsuki swore he heard Rabbit raise his eyebrows across the call. _"Wha-?"_

"Yeah, I can't leave the civilian setting right now. But it's fine. My kwami suggested I do some digging on the baby Todoroki to help you out." Katsuki tapped the screen of his phone a few times for indication, even though Rabbit wasn't actually here to see. "Did you know he has a Rumor account?"

 _"Wha-?"_ Rabbit groaned in frustration. _"How is that supposed to help-?!"_

"I think you're forgetting." Katsuki zoomed in on his phone. "Rumor's notoriously hackable. Mess around for long enough and you've got a _location finder._ "

* * *

 _Lone, you stupid genius._ Izuku paced across the rooftop of an American themed restaraunt. He stuttered a little over his next few words. "Gr-Great! Where is he? Is he on his way to Soumei? He's been tracking down family members and-"

 _"Actually..."_ Lone murmured, a little distracted. _"He's been hanging out by Nogareru for the last few hours."_

Izuku trailed off.

 _"A couple of minutes ago he left, and, hmm..."_ Lone paused a little, presumably to double check something on Rumor. _"Do you know a place called The All Mighty Diner? Looks American."_

Izuku swallowed. _Well, crap._ "Find a way to contact Soumei. Todoroki-sensei needs to find somewhere to hide."

 _"Rabbit?"_

Izuku hung up. He took a deep breath. He'd only just come to realize how cold the air was.

"Villains usually come after me first thing." Izuku said aloud. He turned around, harp gripped in hand, to face the dual-colored boy on the roof across from him. "Mainly because I'm a big ol' inconvenience. Just barely catch the drift?"

"I'll be taking that jewel of yours." Frostfire's voice was completely dead, like a robot. Like it was something... he really didn't care to do? Maybe it wasn't his main priority- not really. Then what possessed him to come after Rabbit _now_ of all times? He only had one more sibling to go. Maybe even Endeavor too, if he hadn't already collected him. Couldn't it have waited?

"That's funny, I've had a lot of people say that." Izuku shrugged. "But hey... maybe you're special." Suddenly remembering something, he added, "Is that what your sensei told you?" If he could get more information on this 'Sensei' individual...

Frostfire's visible eye squinted a bit.

"I'm not special." His tone held bitterness, surprising Izuku, and what he said next actually put weight in his stomach. "I've never been special. Not in any sense. If anything, I disappoint. And when I disappoint, I bleed." He paused. " But I was never special enough for that to matter."

He gestured very slightly to himself, without removing his fiery hand from where it pointed at Izuku. "This, this doesn't make me special. It only makes me _capable_. Capable to accomplish what I desire more than anything in the world."

Izuku let out a slow, small breath. A cloud came with it. "...Your family?"

"Somewhere safe." He promised. "Far away from that wretched man." Izuku perked up at this. "We all will be, soon. But first," He clenched his teeth and switched hands, pointing the right one at Izuku this time. "I have something I need to collect."

Ice surged out at Izuku and he swerved to dodge it, making an arc around the column and diving in closer to Frostfire with his harp. He wasn't sure where the akuma was, but if he swung at random perhaps Frostfire might give it away by covering it up to protect it. So he did just that, swinging the sharp side of his harp at the villain's mask.

 _THUNK!_ Frostfire caught Izuku's arm just as it came in, stopping it dead in his iron grip. Izuku gasped, only five inches away from Frostfire's face and feeling the heat radiate scorching hot from under his mask.

"You're strong." Frostfire barely needed to lift his voice, as though holding Izuku's straining arm was absolutely nothing. Izuku panicked thinking of what sort of strength could counter his until another look revealed why- _Frostfire had already frozen his arm._ Izuku hadn't even felt it.

He ripped away immediately, his arm suddenly heavier and completely numb. It was dead weight at his side, his harp still gripped in frozen fingers. Nevertheless, he refused to show any sort of pain or panic. He clenched his other hand, sparking green, and bolted back in.

He zig-zagged a few times before coming full blown, this time on Frostfire's left. The several feints should've thrown Frostfire off, but the villain was almost as fast as he was, his left side immediately bursting in bright, hellish flame. Izuku cried out to feel his face and arm burn in the midst of it, and it took him the rest of his strength to dig his feet into the roof and spring backwards to avoid barreling straight into the inferno.

Reeling, Izuku grunted uneasily. It hadn't even been ten minutes and he was already heavily compromised- one half of him frozen, and the other half burned. He could keep going but it would be messy. It was dangerous. He couldn't keep fighting. Not without Lone.

But then how could he get away? It's not as though Frostfire would let him just turn and run with his tail between his legs. He needed an opening. He needed-

 _CRASH!_

In all the nonsense neither Frostfire or Izuku even noticed the satellite antenna fall until it was already upon them. Once again, Frostfire was flattened conveniently for Izuku's escape.

Izuku jerked back, looking all around while Frostfire was still occupied. How could it have fallen? They weren't anywhere near an antenna- there wasn't even an antenna on the roof of this diner, so where had it even _come_ from?!

"Rabbit!"

Izuku whirled around, his limbs heavy and hurting, to see a man, peeking out from a trapdoor in the roof. He was blonde and worn-looking, rather gaunt with dark eyes. He beckoned with one skeletal hand. "Quickly, before he collects himself!"

Never let it be said Rabbit didn't accept help when he needed it. Without another word, Izuku dove at the trapdoor, tumbling past the man and into darkness as the trapdoor slammed shut.

* * *

The diner was closed, all dark and tarped up. There were dustcovers on the booths and all along the bar, glass cups and piles of plates collecting dust on plastic covered shelves. The heater was off, and it was cold. The overhead lights were off. But despite that, the refrigerator was still working, and inside was a lifetime supply of Pepsi- a can of which the old man immediately offered to Izuku.

Izuku generally would turn it down considering a villainized Todoroki was still on the roof and as Rabbit Izuku was obligated to go beat him up. But his arm was frozen and he had first degree burns on his face and other arm. He deserved a pick-me-up, didn't he?

"Uh." Izuku took it, albeit hesitantly. "...Thanks?"

The man didn't waste any more time. "Your partner is out of the fight, I presume?"

Since when was that any of his business? Izuku cracked the soda can slowly, trying to make his face form a passive expression but only ending up making himself look even more skeptical.

"For now." He risked. He couldn't have some civilian get ideas about Rabbit and the Lone Wolf's civilian identities. But he couldn't really be dishonest either. "Something came up. It's just me for now. Excuse me- but why on _earth_ would you jump into a villain fight like that?"

The man raised his arms in a shrug, fiddling behind the bar while Izuku stood awkwardly with a Pepsi can on the other side. "You looked like you needed help."

"It's dangerous. You could've been hurt." Geez, it felt weird to be scolding an adult.

The man gestured at Izuku with his bony hand. "And you couldn't have been? Besides," He dipped back beneath the counter. "It's over now. Young Todoroki is gone now- looking for you and the Lone Wolf again. I don't think he'll be back."

Izuku looked up at the ceiling. "Wha- how could you know that?" His head whipped back down again. "How do you know that's Todoroki?"

Twinkling blue eyes peeked up over the counter. "The same way I know who you are..." He rose to his full height again- an intimidating eight feet of skin and bone- this time holding a strangely shaped box. He set it on the bar, and smiled knowingly down at the little green hero. "...Midoriya Izuku."

Izuku's heart dropped straight into his stomach.

The pepsi can clattered onto the floor loudly, spilling soda everywhere. The old man just watched as it did, a look of disappointment morphing onto his face, but he shook it off to meet Izuku's eyes.

Izuku didn't give him much time to explain, though. Immediately he flew back, stumbling stupidly on his burned/frozen feet, trying fiercely to throw his frozen arm with his harp, but to no avail. Horror flooded his head and he desperately tried to come up with something to say- what _could_ he say? He should say 'what do you mean who the heck is Midoriya' but then again he's already made this much of a scene to make it extremely obvious. How did this man know who he was? Izuku had tried so hard ever since the day Ichi came to him to keep his identity under wraps so _how_...?!

" _Don't try anything!_ " He yelled suddenly, his loud voice ringing through the empty restaurant and making the man jump. "This miraculous is under my protection! This city is under my protection! If you try to take my miraculous I'll-"

"Young Midoriya!" The man interrupted him sharply. "I'm not about to take that miraculous from you."

"How can I be sure of that?!"

"Because I'm the one who _gave_ it to you."

Izuku's wild shouts died on his tongue, and he fell quiet.

"That's better." The man's face softened and he smiled. "Now, are you willing to listen to me?"

 _What?_ Izuku's mind was all over the place. "You..." He whispered. "You're the one who gave me the rabbit miraculous?"

"And I gave the Lone Wolf the wolf miraculous." The man added with a nod. "Japan needed heroes when All For One emerged. I had no other choice at the time, and I was very nervous to let more kwamis go after how many he's managed to take from me... But I see now that I made the right choice." The man opened the box, and smiled at the contents. He looked up at Izuku again. "Young Midoriya, you make a phenomenal Rabbit."

Hesitant, very hesitant, Izuku crept forward again, in hopes to peek inside the box. After all, if it had to do with his secret superpowers, then he should have the right to see what it was, right? The man didn't stop him; in fact, he turned the box so Izuku could see.

It was... jewelry. At first, Izuku didn't understand why this was so important. And then-

"Oh my gosh." He gasped as it hit him over the head. "Are these... _miraculous_?"

The man grinned. "You can call me Toshinori. I'm the Guardian of the Miraculous."

Izuku's day just couldn't get any weirder than this.

"There are... so _many_." Izuku reached out with his unfrozen hand, lightly touching a necklace in its designated place. It was shaped like a flower you'd find in a rainforest. "And don't they have..." He hesitated to say it. He wasn't used to talking to people about it. "...kwamis?"

"A few do." Toshinori nodded. "They're dormant right now. Resting, as they deserve to. After all, they've been through a lot... and you've only just saved them."

"Saved them?" Izuku blinked. "But I've never seen any kwamis beside my own- how could I have-?"

"The butterflies." Toshinori cut in softly.

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Izuku ran a hand through his hair. It hurt his hand. He kept forgetting it was burned.

Toshinori closed the box. "I'll better explain later, I promise. But as for right now, you should detransform. I can help you."

Izuku didn't like the sound of detransforming. "But-"

"It's for Ichi." Toshinori pleaded. "Just trust me."

Well. Now he didn't really have a choice, did he?

* * *

Katsuki nervously waited for Rabbit to call back, fiddling with his phone all the while, watching the news while getting no real answers. Rabbit hadn't been seen since he left Nogareru. Todoroki's Rumor account indicated he was still in the city, but he wasn't even going near Soumei. Maybe Rabbit was wrong about his sister?

"Hey, Baku-bro!"

 _Ugh, great._

Katsuki looked up as Kirishima and the rest of his dumb friends gravitated into his self-designated corner of the classroom. One of Deku's friends was with them too, annoyingly enough; the brunette. They were holding a notebook and pencil, which they proceeded to shove into his face. Irritably, Katsuki tore it from their hands to get a better look at it. The page was covered in names, some of which were crossed out.

"We were trying to narrow down who the villain is," Kaminari bounced excitedly. "And we think it might be someone from class!"

 _Well, duh,_ thought Katsuki. But then again, Todoroki's identity hadn't been revealed over the news yet, and Katsuki was naturally open to more knowledge being the Lone Wolf than these civilians, who had to figure it all out on their own.

Deku's friend hopped in where Kaminari left off, nodding vigorously. She had a Jirou's phone in her hands- probably to update her dumb blog. "We're getting alibis for the people who are missing. People who don't check out are classified as a suspect." She jabbed at the notebook with her finger. "Do you now where these people are?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes and looked over the list. There were only two people not crossed off. Todoroki... and Deku.

He blinked. He'd forgotten that Deku left before the drill. He assumed the idiot went to find Todoroki, but he hadn't even thought about where that put him now.

"Deku went to go find Todoroki earlier. He's probably in one of the other saferooms." Katsuki said finally, handing the notebook back. "Pretty Boy probably is too."

"That's the thing though." Sero spread his hands. "We listened in on Aizawa-sensei's conversation when he was talking on the phone earlier. Midoriya isn't in any of the other saferooms. Neither is Todoroki. And if everyone in the school are in saferooms, but the both of them aren't, that can only mean only one thing."

"Two things!" Ashido piped up with a giggle.

"That can only mean two things." Sero amended. "Either one of them is the villain, and he managed to kill the other one-"

"Or they're both in a closet somewhere!" Ashido threw in, snorting loudly into her hands. Deku's friend threw her a flat look.

Katsuki grimaced and kicked them away. "Wow! Great! Now go away!"

"But the villain!" Kirishima complained, but Katsuki effectively shooed them off before they could say anything else. After all, he couldn't care less about what they were doing. He didn't give two flying craps.

 _Deku's off the radar,_ his inner conscious tried to stab at him, but he pushed it away.

He didn't care. It wasn't his problem.

 _He could be dead._

It wasn't.

* * *

"Before you transform again, have Ichi eat this." Toshinori handed Izuku a small ball that, with a closer look, he recognized.

"Is this a yogurt treat?" He held it up with two fingers to inspect it, the green color catching in the light of the quickly dipping sun. Toshinori chuckled quietly.

"Yes. Ichi finds it easier to ingest when they're made into treats. Boomi rather prefers biscuits."

"What is it?" Izuku asked, cradling his newly thawed arm closer to his chest. Ichi was taking a nap in the crook of that arm. His poor kwami had been too exhausted to even register Tohsinori was there before he clocked out.

"Something to help you defeat Frostfire. A power-up, if you will."

"Power-up?" It was Izuku's turn to chuckle lightly. "What, like a video game?"

Toshinori nodded gravely. "Exactly like a video game."

"...Hm." Izuku put the treat in his pocket. He turned back to the front door, watching blissfully unaware pedestrians walk past the front window, effectively warded off by the 'Sorry, We're Closed!' sign. He had to go after Frostfire again. He didn't want to. "Thanks again, Toshinori-san."

"Come back when this is all over." Toshinori placed a kind hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you everything."

* * *

Ichi was absolutely shocked to hear about Toshinori.

"I can't believe he revealed himself to you already!" He gasped, zipping to and fro. Izuku glanced nervously at the ends of the alleyway he was hiding in, not wanting anyone to listen in or see. "Toshi has been so very careful lately- I didn't think he'd have the heart to tell you anything at all!"

"Who is he, really?" Izuku asked, and Ichi came to rest in his open hand.

"The Guardian of the Miraculous." He explained. "He gave me to you so that we could rescue the kwami taken from us by All For One. But," He looked toward Izuku's pocket. "That's a story he'd best tell you himself. For now, it's time to power up."

"Oh. Right." He brought the yogurt treat up to Ichi, and his kwami anxiously took it. "What does it do?"

"You'll find out." Ichi said with his mouth full. "Transform."

* * *

Soumei Junior High was in lockdown. Even without an anonymous call telling _her specifically_ to find somewhere to hide, Todoroki Fuyumi could nearly burst with unease.

No one was telling them what was going on. Apparently someone got akumatized, but they managed to stay out of the news so far, making them a mysterious threat that put everyone on the edge of their seat. The only thing they knew about the villain was that they had the power to manipulate temperature; everywhere they went they left ice in their wake. Their last stop had been Nogareru University.

 _I really hope Natsu is okay._ Fuyumi's heart throbbed at the thought of her brother getting hurt. Not by someone else. They already had so much to deal with at home.

Right now she sat on the floor in the corner of the teacher's lounge- the one on the fifth floor, nowhere near her classroom- next to the outlet she was charging her phone at. She was the only one there; everyone else was in the lockdown classroom with their students. She should be, too, but the anonymous caller had been adamant about her hiding somewhere else... as though _she_ _specifically_ had something to worry about.

It made her wonder just who this villain was.

A sudden knock on the door made her jump. She looked up as the door creaked open, the principal peeking his head in, a wide-eyed look on his face.

"Todoroki? Um... you're not gonna believe this but..." The principal seemed at a loss for words. He stepped aside, and lo and behold, in stepped one of Japan's revered heroes. She immediately shot to her feet, giving a few anxious bows with little squeaks of " _Rabbit_!"

Rabbit put up his hands, looking a bit thrown off. His signature smile seemed forced. "Look- everything's fine. I'm here now."

Judging by the tension in his shoulders, Fuyumi questioned how genuine that statement was. Nevertheless, he was all business, turning back to the principal. "Go back to the safe room. I'll take care of her."

The principal's lips drew tight in worry. "...Right." He gave Fuyumi a reassuring smile before leaving the room. Rabbit turned to her again.

"We don't have a lot of time." He said. "But your brother's been akumatized."

Fuyumi was taken aback. "N-Natsuo?" She stuttered.

Rabbit shook his head. "Shouto."

"Shouto." Oh gosh. "Oh, Shouto." She covered her mouth.

"Hey." Rabbit put a comforting hand on her arm. He was shorter than her. In fact, he didn't even seem to be that old at all. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to save him. But I needed to ask you if you knew what caused this."

What caused it? Oh, Fuyumi had every idea of what caused this.

"He's been travelling the city, collecting his family. He said something about keeping them safe. I don't know who from. He has Todoroki Rei, and he has Natsuo. I'm not sure if he has Ende- Todoroki Enji, but-"

"He doesn't." Fuyumi whispered bitterly. Rabbit perked up.

"Why's that?"

Fuyumi took a deep breath. Time to finally come clean. It made her stomach sink into her feet. Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth. Years and years of repression told her she wasn't supposed to do this. But this was Rabbit. He was a superhero. If anyone could help her family- _save_ her family- Rabbit could.

"Our father..." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "...is the one Shouto wants to protect us from."

Something seemed to finally click behind Rabbit's bright green eyes. His smile faded.

"I see." He whispered.

"Good." She swallowed again. "Now... can you save him?"

"I can." He promised, a renewed vigor in his voice. And then a promise. "I'm gonna save all of you."

* * *

Izuku waited outside Soumei Junior High for Frostfire to turn up. He'd done what Lone did with the Rumor app, hacking into the location finder to see where the villain was right now. He seemed to have given up on looking for the heroes, because he was currently on his way to pick up his sister right now.

When he finally showed up, Izuku would be here waiting for him.

Right now, though, he was thinking.

Endeavor. The man Izuku had idolized for so long. But he wouldn't be anymore, because suddenly it all made sense. Everything made sense now, literally _everything_ \- Todoroki's antisocial behavior, the burn over his left eye, the bruise on his wrist. His mother's hospitalization, his sister's choice to be a behavioral counselor. It was all connected.

Endeavor was a bad, bad father.

Loud noises up ahead caused Izuku to perk up. The ground was rumbling a bit. Car alarms set off a few streets ahead. He was coming. Izuku clenched his fists and readied himself for round two.

When Frostfire finally showed himself, standing on the roof of a house across the street from Soumei, Izuku saw him in a different light. Earlier, Frostfire was just a cold psychopath, heartlessly barreling through everything to get what he was looking for. Now Izuku saw past that. Underneath the show of villainy, he was just a desperate kid, trying to save his family the only way he thought he could.

"Todoroki," He called, and Frostfire glared directly down at him, eyes fiery. Flames lit up on his left side, while icy steam drifted from his right. He jumped from the roof of the house, sticking a landing on the road, and as he crossed, he left footprints- ice from his right, and scorches from his left. He walked slowly, a stalk, as though he were hunting Izuku, getting ready to pounce.

Izuku held up his hands- healed and thawed as much as they could be beneath his newly patched suit. Hopefully this powerup worked. Because he was pretty sure he was about to get Todoroki really, really mad.

"Todoroki, I understand now." He said slowly. "I understand. But what you're doing is not going to help them. Who you're working with... your Sensei... he's not going to save you."

Frostfire curled his lip. "You know nothing."

"I know enough." Izuku took a step forward. So did Frostfire. "I know about your father."

"He's not my father anymore." Frostfire bit out savagely, frost gathering on the side of his face not obscured by the mask. "He lost that privilege a long time ago! My Sensei... My Sensei is offering me a new life. He has offered to fill the gap Enji has made." His eye glazed over. "We.. can be a family... a real family..."

"No, you can't." Izuku whispered. Frostfire twitched, and his expression went stony.

"How _dare_ you?" he hissed.

"Listen to me." Izuku cut in roughly. "He's not who he says he is. He's using you. Toying with your emotions and using your pain as a tool to get you to do what he wants-"

" _Don't LIE to me_!" Frostfire lashed out with his left side, flame bursting forth and flying directly at Izuku. Izuku held his breath, and put up his hands. The powerup flashed over his body like electricity, and as the fire met his open palms, it split, cutting in half and parting. The flames dissipated.

 _There it is._ Temperature regulator. Built to withstand the hottest hot and the coldest cold. Also good for hot days when lemonade won't do it and blizzards when the heater's broken.

Frostfire looked positively stunned to see Izuku emerge just fine from his fiery storm, and he immediately threw out a wall of ice instead. It hit Izuku's outstretched hands again and immediately, on contact, began to melt. With his powerup, Izuku effectively melted the wall in half, emerging once more in one piece.

"How?" Frostfire breathed.

"I told you." Izuku gave him a wry smile. "I'm an _inconvenience_."

Frostfire shook his head, and attacked again, wildly this time, and at random. All the while, Izuku brushed off the fire, brushed off the ice, hopping in close and keeping up the talk.

"I know you're in a lot of pain, Todoroki!" He shouted, ducking to avoid a block of ice Frostfire threw at him. "But this isn't the way to solve it!"

"Don't tell me how to solve my own problems!" He shouted. "I know what I have to do!"

"No! No, you don't have to!" Izuku countered, landing hard on the road and crouching to jump again. "And you shouldn't! And you know you shouldn't!"

"Shut up!"

"This isn't what your family wants!"

" _Shut up_!" Frostfire's whole left side was a raging inferno, pointing it directly at Izuku as he came in close. Izuku was starting to feel it. He jumped out at him, grabbing him around the middle and tumbling him around the pavement, eyes searching like crazy for wherever the akuma could be. Frostfire grabbed the side of his head, ice surging out to freeze it. The temperature regulator kept him from freezing then and there, but little ice crystals settled in his hair and frost collected on his mask, forcing him to pull back and jump off. Izuku recollected himself a few feet away, and Frostfire got back onto his feet, panting.

"My Sensei gave me these powers." He growled, fingers hooking. "I can't just forsake him. Not when I can use them to save me, and my family, from that _monster_!"

" _I_ can save you!" Izuku shouted, slamming a hand hard on his chest.

Frostfire's powers dimmed at Izuku's words, and he hesitated.

" _I_ can save you." Izuku repeated, eyes now burning, though not from Frostfire's flames. "You don't have to trade a bad person for a bad person. It's okay to ask for help. I would be happy to help. Please, let him go."

"My Sensei or my father?" Frostfire bit.

"Both of them." Izuku stepped forward again. "They want to control you. But you don't have to let them. Cast them out." He suddenly remembered something. "You-You know that movie, right? Captain Marvel? The Commander of Starforce manipulated Carol to use her powers to hurt innocent people. But in the end, she defeated him."

Frostfire didn't move for a few minutes. Then looked down at his hands.

"I'm not..." He took a breath. "I don't hurt innocent people, I..."

"Your Sensei is trying to manipulate you." Izuku tried again. "He's hurting you in a different way than your father did- he will make you hurt others. But you don't have to. I promise you don't have to."

"But..." Frostfire looked up at Izuku again, eye glinting a little with a stray tear. "But..."

"You don't have to do this alone." Izuku reached out to him, slowly. "Just let me help you."

His hand touched Frostfire's. Frostfire let him.

And then he exploded.

It was so sudden- one moment he's accepting Izuku's comfort, and then he jerks back with a guttural scream of pain, clutching his head. Izuku jumped, watching Frostfire collapse on himself and trying wildly to decide what to do. What _could_ he do? He didn't know where his akuma was.

"Stop!" Frostfire cried. "I don't want this anymore! _Stop_!"

"The akuma!" Izuku yelled over his wild screams, brandishing his harp. One of Frostfire's hands drifted from his head, reaching down and clutching at his pocket. Izuku wasted no time, diving down next to him and reaching inside. What he pulled out was a pocketknife, small and simple. It was completely black.

"Hurry!" Frostfire pleaded, and Izuku threw it to the ground, cracking it. He stomped on it a few times for good measure, and at last, a butterfly sprang free. Izuku swung his harp at it, entangling it in the strings, then brought it close and strummed a few chords.

The harp glowed brightly, then burst with light, the butterfly, now white as snow, taking flight. It hovered for just a moment in front of Izuku, wings flapping gently.

"Go home." Izuku whispered. The butterfly's wings beat twice more before it turned and fluttered off into the sky.

Down at his feet, Frostfire's villainous costume melted away into a school uniform, and Todoroki, truly himself again, lie on the road on his side, a look of pure misery painted across his face. Izuku knelt down next to him.

"Come inside." He held out his hand. "Your sister wants to see you."

* * *

It didn't take long for the police to get it all sorted. Todoroki Enji was taken right out of a wrestling match- something Izuku would be a little conflicted watching later. He'd been taken into custody for the time being; the police decided if his parenting was bad enough to make his kid go full blown villain, maybe he should be removed from the household for a while. Izuku couldn't agree more. And neither could the Todorokis, for that matter. Speaking of that- considering Todoroki Rei was making fantastic progress in the hospital- with Enji gone, her kids were finally given the okay to visit her, for the first time in way too long.

And now, as the moon began to rise above the city skyline, Izuku stood on the big balcony of Todoroki's room, watching the buildings light up in neon colors. That was his favorite part. Who would've thought Todoroki had such a great view of it?

As he stood, Todoroki came up beside him, leaning on the railing, looking out at the city as well to avoid looking at him.

"Fuyumi and Natsuo are making a big dinner to celebrate." He said, his voice not betraying anything on his mind. "Will you be staying?"

Izuku shook his head. "I can't."

"Oh. That's a shame."

It really was, but the Lone Wolf's order to tell him about the day over dinner flashed across his mind and Izuku had to hide his smile. "Sorry. I've really got somewhere to be. But," He turned to look at Todoroki for real. "I'll be back from time to time. To check on you and your family. I made a promise after all."

Todoroki blinked. "But... you've already saved us."

"There's more than one way to save someone." Izuku hummed. "Sometimes it takes time. And work." He hopped up onto the balcony railing, peeking back over his shoulder at Todoroki with a smile. "I'll be there if you ever need me. Okay?"

Todoroki's mouth made a little 'o', and he closed it. He nodded.

Izuku stepped off the balcony.

* * *

The next day, Kacchan immediately came up to him the minute he walked into the classroom. Izuku narrowed his eyes up at him, refusing to flinch back as Kacchan inspected him with his judgmental eyes.

"So." He muttered. "You're not dead."

Izuku blinked. _Eh_?

"Shame." Kacchan turned on his heel and stalked back across the room, leaving Izuku confused as to what the heck just happened. He later got his answer when his friends rushed up to him and asked him if he'd been captured by the villain. He had to say yes- he couldn't very well say he'd been the one _fighting_ the villain.

But when the ruckus died down and it was getting closer to the start of class, Izuku spared a moment to visit Todoroki at the back of the class, writing with his right hand this time. He looked better. The circles under his eyes weren't quite as dark.

"Hey." He started, and Todoroki paused. He looked up.

"Good morning." Todoroki murmured. Already ten times better than last time.

Now or never. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me and my friends for lunch today."

A squint. "Really? But today's a short day."

"Yeah. We thought we'd go eat out."

"Well, um." Todoroki fiddled with his pencil, clearly a little flustered. "Yeah. Yeah! Uh- did you want to trade contact information? I have Rumor."

Izuku's mouth curved into a smile that reached his eyes. "Rumor? Isn't that app kind of sketchy?"

"To be honest..." Todoroki smiled too- a little wry. "I just use it for memes."

They shared a small laugh. Yeah. They were getting off to a good start.

* * *

 **Ohhh my gosh you guys, I am so sorry. I tried to get back by October but it's been hectic over here. I finally managed to churn this out over the course of several days so sorry if it seemed rushed or confusing anywhere. Also, you guys' feedback is so sweet; I'm about in tears reading your comments, I'm so grateful for all your support. I promise I'm fine, I've just been really busy. But I'm back, and I'm so happy you like this story, it's so much fun to write!**

 **On a completely unrelated note- STEVEN UNIVERSE FUUTUUUUREE! (had to get that out there im so excited ill probably write a story for that later)**

 **Anyway, I hope you're all having a good day! See you next chapter!**

 **-DFTM**


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